Power of the Zodiac
by Xx Margot xX
Summary: After the mages save the magic web, they encounter strange, unknown mages with incredible elemental magic. The new mages must work with Emily, Kara, and Adriane to master their new powers and possibly save the magic web all over again! OCs mixed with original characters
1. Chapter 1

**_1_**

Emily rushed through the halls of Stonehill High. Adriane and Kara had told her, via dragonfly, to meet them at the Ravenswood Manor right after school. Adriane had found something very interesting in the library that she eagerly wanted to show her mage friends. Emily was curious about what the warrior had to say. Plus, the mages had to work on the fall tours and website information. Emily tightened her grip on her backpack, walking faster through the empty halls. She figured that it would be better if she waited until the halls were empty so that she could travel faster. It was worth the wait. The halls of the high school were totally empty. Easier to walk through without no one around, the healer thought. She glanced at the rainbow heart jewel hanging from the end of the silver chain around her neck. Mixtures of blues and greens danced across the jewel's surface, emitting a soft blue green light. Oh, how wonderful it was to be a mage, Emily thought. And not just any mage, but a healer! Using magic was a really great feeling to Emily.

The healer smiled.

As Emily stared at her jewel, she bumped into another girl going in the opposite direction. Emily stepped back and stared at the other girl. She was about the same age as her, with auburn hair and stunning blue eyes.

"Uhm... Sorry," Emily mumbled.

The other girl smiled and nodded. "It's okay."

Emily smiled back at the girl. As the girl was starting to walk away, her arm brushed against Emily's. Suddenly, the healer's jewel flashed white. Emily was nearly blinded by the strange light. She quickly pulled her arm away and examined her jewel. As quickly as it came, the light disappered. What was that? Emily wondered.

How could that strange light just...

At the same time, the girl froze, only for an instant. Something tingled up her spine. It wasn't a warning of danger, but a familiar, friendly feeling. The girl kept walking as Emily pulled her arm away sharply.

The girl stopped and looked back. She saw Emily studying her bracelet with an odd expression on her face. "You okay?" Emily looked up, the girl watching her carefully.

"I'm fine."

The girl nodded and continued walking in the other direction.

That was extremely weird, Emily thought. When that girl touched her, her rainbow jewel flashed. Did that girl possibly harbor magic? There was only one way to find out. Emily was about to see if that girl had a magical aura, but the girl had already disappeared around the corner. Should she go after her?

_PoP!_

Barney suddenly appeared in front of Emily's face. "Emee!"

"Hi, Barney."

The mini landed on Emily's shoulder and beeped, signaling a d-fly call. Emily poked the purple dragonfly's belly.

"Emily, where are you?" Adriane's voice rang through Barney.

"I'm on my way."

"Okay, don't waste time."

Emily poked the d-fly's belly, severing the connection.

She looked down the hallway where the girl had walked off to. "I guess it would waste time if I followed that girl," Emily said to herself.

"Oooo?" Barney flew into Emily's backpack and started rumaging around for something to eat.

"You're right."

Emily turned and started walking in the other direction.

* * *

><p>"Look, I'll go shopping with you guys another time, okay?"<p>

Kara walked out of her house, her pink cell phone glued to her ear.

"But K," Molly whined,"you haven't gone shopping with us in, like, ever!"

"I promise that I'll make it up to you guys."

"Come on, K!" Tiffany yelled into the phone.

"It'll be fun!" Heather added.

"I have Ravenswood stuff to do today guys," Kara tried to explain. "Hmmph," Tiffany huffed. "Fine. We'll just go without you then."

There was a click and the line disconnected. Kara closed her phone and stuffed it into her pocket. Who needs Heather, Molly, or Tiffany? She has her real best friends at the Ravenswood Presevre. At least there she could use her magic freely and not be noticed. There, she can really shine as the blazing star.  
>Kara made her way to the presevre. While she was walking, she noticed that some cheerleaders from Stonehill High were practicing in the local football field. "Hmm..."<p>

Kara said out loud. "I think I wanna see what they're doing."

The blazing star walked over to the gate and watched as the cheerleaders cheered and chanted. Oh, how she wanted to be a cheerleader, but there was just too much work to be done at Ravenswood. She sighed and turned, then stopped short when a pair of brown eyes were staring at her. Kara squealed and jumped back. Only then did she realize that the brown eyes belonged to a gothic looking girl. The girl's eyes went wide in shock. "What're you doing?"

"Sorry," Kara said brushing herself off.

She looked at the goth up and down. She had short black hair and black masquera that made her look like a car. Eww, Kara thought. The girl had piercings. She would never be caught wearing piercings. Even if they were fake.

"Excuse me." The girl pushed past Kara.

The girl's shoulder's touched each other. Suddenly Kara's unicorn jewel flashed with a silver light, then disappeared when the girl walked away. Kara looked back at the girl.

Whoa, she thought. What just happened?  
>The blazing star shook off the experience. It was probably nothing, she thought.<p>

* * *

><p>Adriane and Dreamer were standing outside of the Pet Palace, waiting for Emily and Kara to arrive. The warrior patted her bonded on his neck and watched the roads carefully.<p>

"Where are they?" Adriane asked to herself.

_"They're probably late,"_ Dreamer said.

"You're probably right."

The mistwolf smiled his wolf like smiled and looked up, his coat shining. Adriane looked around, just in case. The door to the Pet Palace opened. A short girl with shoulder length black hair and glasses walked out. She pushed her glasses into place then glanced at Adriane. Adriane looked at the girl, then quickly looking away, sensing that this girl was not a threat.

Dreamer suddenly tensed.

_"What is it?"_ Adriane asked her bonded telepathicly.

_"I can sense magic."_ The mistwolf sniffed the air.

"Where? Can you find it?"

Dreamer sniffed the ground then pointed his nose at the girl. _"There."_

_"Good job, buddy."_

The girl looked at the warrior and mistwolf. "What a beautiful dog," she said calmly.

"Uh, thanks," Adriane replied, feeling a little nervous.

The girl nodded then walked back inside the Pet Palace. _"Okay, how weird was that?"_ Dreamer asked. "Very weird," Adriane replied to her mistwolf.

_"I sensed magic from that girl, really strong magic..."_

Just then, Kara walked up to the warrior. "Hey," the blazing star said. "I thought you were gonna be at the mansion."

"We decided to wait here."

"Good idea, I guess."

The two girls walked around the Pet Palace and headed towards the entrance to the Ravenswood Preserve. Emily was waiting at the trail.

"Where were you guys?" she asked.

"I'll explain later," Adriane said. "Right now, we should get inside the mansion. What I found should be very interesting to you two."

The mages where standing around a large table that was covered in books inside the Ravenswood mansion library. Adriane reached over to another table and grabbed a large black book, handing it to Emily. There was no title on the cover and the spine was empty too. The healer opened the large book and read the first page.

"'Elemental Magic and the Zodiac?'" she read.

Adriane nodded. "This is a really cool book."

Emily started flipping through the book, skimming the pages. Kara looked over her shoulder, reading along.

"Whoa! Stop for a second! Go back to page 32!"

Emily stopped flipping and turned back to page 32. The headtitle was The Zodiac Mage.

"Look at this," Kara said reading. "'The Zodiac Mage is a mage that can control elemental magic depending on their Zodiac signs.' How interesting!"

"Told you," Adriane smiled.

"This is pretty cool." Emily smiled as she read on. "It says here that they're a different race of magical beings though, so I guess we can't be these types of mages."

"Good point."

"Emily!"

Ozzie, the furry ferret, jumped into Emily's arms. Emily squealed in delight as she hugged the magical ferret.

"Hi, Ozzie."

_"Don't knock her over,"_ Lyra, Kara's magical cat, added.

"Gah! I'm too small to knock over someone as big as her."

"Thanks," Emily said putting Ozzie down on the table. "Oh!" Kara shouted. "I've got something to tell you guys."

"Well, spill it out, girl," Adriane said. "When I was walking here, a girl bumped into me, and my jewel flashed!"

Emily gasped. "That happened to me too! It was weird."

"That is odd," Ozzie said, not really paying attention. The fuzzy ferret was stuffing potato chips into his mouth, making his cheeks puff up like balloons.

"Wait a second," the warrior said. "Dreamer sensed strong magic coming from this girl we saw earlier."

"Really?" the other mages gasped.

Adriane nodded.

"Do you think they're other mages?" Kara asked excitedly.

"Do you think they could be trouble?" Emily asked.

"I don't think so." Kara shook her head. "Although, the girl I saw had piercings, soooo maybe."

_"What should we do?"_ Lyra asked.

It was silent for a moment, then Ozzie said,"I think we should just watch out. Keep an eye on things while attending everyday life, you know?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kara said.

"Good, now let's get to work," Adriane said. "We need to fix up the website and set tour dates."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Let me just warn everyone who is reading this: this fanfiction contains blood and cussing. I wanted it to be more interesting. Not that much though... So please! Enjoy my FanFic! :)<em>**


	2. Chapter 2

_**2**_

Jennifer Balisk walked through the halls of her sister's middle school. It was her job to pick up her sister from yet another detention. Great, she thought. Any more detentions and she might get expelled.

Jen finally made it to room 314. She walked inside and saw her sister, Julia Balisk, sitting in a desk in the front row. Jen's sister looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Let's go," Jen said crossing her arms.

"Fine."

Juls stood up and walked to her sister. Just then, Mr. Clay walked in.

"Miss Balisk," he said,"are you here to get your sister?"

"Yes, sir," Jen said. "We'll be leaving now."

The teacher nodded and sat at his desk. Jen and Juls walked out of the classroom and headed towards the nearest doors that lead outside. Jen punched her sister lightly on the shoulder.

"What were you thinking?" Jen asked.

Juls rubbed her shoulder. "What? It was a harmless prank!"

"Yeah, right. Filling the principal's car with water wasn't such a good idea was it?"

Juls sighed and stared at her feet. "You're right."

Jen laughed and patted her sister's head. "But it was pretty funny."

The girls laughed as they exited the building. The sisters were about to walk away when Jen stopped and looked down. Something had caught her eye. Looking down, she saw something glittering in the sunlight. She bent down and picked up the object. She looked at it closer and realized that it was a flower. A hops to be exact. She noticed that it wasn't soft, but as hard as a rock. The color was unusual too. It was covered in swirling pinks, greens, and blues. "Whoa," Juls said over her sister's shoulder. "What is that?"

"It's a flower," Jen said. "But it's crystalized."

"Totally cool! Can I have it?"

"No way!" Jen pulled the gem away from her sister. "I found it. Finders keepers, losers weepers."

"Hmmph." Juls pouted as they began to walk home. She was sooo jealous of her sister now. She wanted a very pretty flower like that.

"I'm gonna put it on a bracelet," Jen said while holding the flower to the light. The pinks, greens, and blues shined as the sun reflected off the flower. Jen's sky blue eyes sparkled. She absolutely adored this flower, even if it looked closed.

"Good idea," Juls said. "I hope I find a flower like that."

"It seems so unique though. Let's just keep hoping."

Juls stared at her sister's new flower as they continued walking home.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey Shelby, guess wat?<strong>  
><strong><br>What?**  
><strong><br>I found a very pwetty flower today! ill show it 2 u 2morrow at skool Whats so special about a flower?**  
><strong><br>Its really REALLY special. Ull see!**  
><strong><br>Uhm... Okay then.**

Jen sent text message after text message to her best friend Shelby Anberlin. She babbled on and on about the pretty stone flower she found. She just couldn't believe that she found something so beautiful. She absolutely couldn't wait to show it off at school tomorrow. Jen jumped off her bed and walked over to her dresser. She opened a drawer and pulled out a silver bracelet. She carefully weaved the flower onto the bracelet, making sure to secure it tightly, then placed the accessory on her left wrist. The jewel was stunning. She couldn't believe all the colors that were shining off of it. Wait. Are stones supposed to shine that brightly? She stretched her arm out and examined the jewel. Must be too much light, she thought. She took off the bracelet and placed it on the nightstand next to her bed. She turned off the lights and lied down in bed. After a few minutes, she noticed that the flower was still glowing.

"What the heck?" she mumbled. She looked at flower and sighed. "I guess I should just leave it."

Pinks, greens, and blues danced on the flower, makin the room shine with light softly. Jen stared at the ceiling as the colors moved gracefully. How pretty, she thought before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next day, Jen and her sister walked towards their schools.<p>

"So," Juls started,"you're wearing that flower stone thingy to school today?"

"Yep." Jen held up her wrist so that her sister could see. "Jealous?"

"Yeah!" Juls whined. "I want a pretty stone like that! Can I borrow it sometime?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it."

"That's already a 'no!'"

"You'll get a turn! Don't worry."

The sisters seperated at Davies Avenue and headed in different directions. Jen walked happily to the high school. She couldn't wait to show her friends her new jewelry. She walked into the school and headed up to her first class of the day. She sat down in her normal seat and waited for Shelby to walk in. After a moment, Shelby, along with her other friends Angie and Breanna, walked into the classroom. Shelby sat next to Jen as Angie sat in front of her, Breanna on the other side.

"What's up?" Angie asked turning around.

"Nothing much," Jen replied. "Check it out girls."

The red head held up her wrist and showed her friends her flower. They all gasped. Even Shelby, who usually didn't gasp. "What is that?" Angie asked.

"A crystalized flower?" Shelby added.

"Doesn't look like it," Breanna said.

"I found it on the ground outside of Stonehill Junior High," Jen said.

"Then somebody must've dropped it," Shelby said. "What a shame. It's so beautiful."

"I know right?"

The group marveled at the stone flower until the bell rang. Mrs. Muratomi walked into the room and sat at her desk as usual, waiting for the pledge to start.

Jen couldn't stop staring at her jewel. The beautiful colors from last night still lingered on it. What now? she wondered.

* * *

><p>After her first class was over, Jen walked with Shelby to their next class. They sat down in their seats and talked.<p>

"That was a really weird class," Shelby said.

"It was interesting though," Jen added.

"Yes. Interesting and weird."

The girls laughed. Life couldn't get any better than this, Jen thought.

Suddenly, long arms wrapped around Jen's neck. She gasped then laughed, knowing exactly who was hugging her.

"Hello, Roland," she said kindly, her checks flushing.

"Hey there," the boy said.

Roland let go of Jen and stood up straight. She turned and smiled at the boy. Roland was hugging her from behind ever since the beginning of the year. She guessed he was getting that I-like-you vibe from her. Shelby and Jen both thought that Roland had a crush on the red head. "How's your day so far?" he asked Jen.

"Fine, and yours?" "Fine," he said smiling. Jen smiled back and Roland walked away. She sighed and turned towards Shelby.

"You can tell that he likes you," she said pushing up her glasses.

"Nah, he doesn't," Jen said, even though she knew it was true.

"Yeah he does."

"Who does what?"

Livy Azenneth sat down behind Shelby and smiled, messing with the piercings on her lips. "Who likes who?"

"Liv," Shelby said turning,"do you think Roland likes Jen?"

Liv nodded. "Of course. He shows off all the signs. He's even looking at you now."

"He is?" Jen turned and looked at Roland. She saw him look away from her, blushing. "Oh, my god!" the red head whispered to her friends.

Shelby and Liv laughed as Mr. Cozy entered the class. "We'll talk about this later," Liv said opening her notebook.

Jen and Shelby nodded, then they turned their attention to the teacher.

* * *

><p>"I couldn't believe that!" Kara shouted as the mages sat together at lunch.<p>

"You can't believe what?" Emily asked Kara.

"Did you see how Roland was all over that red head? That should've been me!"

"Aren't you in love with Lorren, Princess?" Adriane laughed.

Kara blushed. "Well, no, of course! Lorren and I are just friends!"

"Yeah, okay."

Kara crossed her arms and looked away from Adriane, focusing on Emily.

"So, Em, how's math coming?" "I'm doing good so far." "At least someone is doing some school work. Unlike some people."

Kara shot Adriane a glance. "Hey! I'm getting good grades!" Adriane said.

"Sure you are."

Emily laughed as her friends argued.

That's when the healer noticed the red head from yesterday walk into the cafeteria. She was the same girl that Roland was hugging, Emily realized. She wondered what she would be like.

* * *

><p>At lunch, Jen sat with her friends Shelby, Liv, and Angie. Shelby's friend Hailey and Liv's friend Mike was there too. Jen didn't really know why.<p>

"So, what're we doing in Cozy's?" Hailey asked Shelby. While Shelby explained the assignment, Angie and Mike argued. "There's no way lasanga can grow on the moon," Angie said.

"Yeah it can!" Mike shouted. "You just gotta know how to grow it."

As they argued, Jen showed Liv her stone flower.

"Very pretty," Liv said. "And you just found it on the ground?"

"Yup," Jen said showing it off. "Lucky, huh?"

"Very."

Something tapped Jen's shoulder. She turned and saw Roland standing behind her. "Hi."

"Hey," he said smiling. "Want to walk with me?" Jen said standing up with her tray of food.

"Sure."

They started to walk away. Out of no where, a tray flew up and slammed into Jen's chest. Spagetti noddles and sauce splattered all over her clean shirt. The guy in front of her smiled evily. She immediately recongized him as Jason, her ex-boyfriend. "Oops," he said. "My bad."

Everyone in the cafeteria started laughing, except Roland and the group of friends at her table. Across the cafeteria, Emily, Adriane, and Kara watched as the red head stared at the blond boy who spilled his spagetti lunch all over her shirt.

"Oh, geez," Emily said.

"He did that on purpose," Kara nearly shouted.

"How can you tell?" Adriane asked.

"'Cause I can."

Jen's cheeks flushed. This is so embarassing, she thought. And this stain is never gonna come out! She was gonna kill Jason for doing this!  
>Anger boiled up inside her. She clenched her fists. She stared at her ex with murder in her eyes, tears threatening to fall. The stone flower on Jen's wrist glowed brightly. Pinks, greens, and blues flashing wildly. She was about to punch Jason in the face when-<p>

_Pop! Pop! Pop! Keeeeeeeshh!_

-the lights from the ceiling exploded. People started screaming and ducking under the tables for cover, including the mages. The teachers ran around the cafeteria, trying to calm the teens down. Roland stared at the floor as the glass fell from the ceiling, covering his head. Jen sheilded her eyes as more lights exploded. Suddenly, the cafeteria fell silent.

"Jen," Shelby nearly whispered,"look down."

"What?" Jen asked. Then she saw it.

Her stone was shining brightly. The natural pinks, greens, and blues danced acrossed the whole cafeteria together. The lights were brighter than usual. A lot more vibrant.

Everyone, even Jason, stared at the magnificent colors.

"Whoa," Roland gasped. Suddenly, the bright lights dimmed and finally disappeared. The cafeteria grew dark, the only light shining through the windows.


	3. Chapter 3

_**3**_

Emily, Adriane, and Kara walked outside of Stonehill High as soon as the chaos in the cafeteria calmed.

"Did you guys see that?" Kara shouted as the mages stood on the sidewalk.

Emily and Adriane nodded. "That was totally crazy!"

"You can say that again," Adriane said.

"Girls," Emily chimed in,"didn't you sense that? I could feel very powerful magic coming from that girl!"

"That's impossible!" Kara put her hands on her hips. "I mean, if that red head had any magic, Adriane and I would've sensed it. Plus, it didn't seem like it."

"Uh, Earth to Kara," Adriane said annoyed. "That girl's bracelet was flashing! Just like how our jewels flash! So she could possibly be."

"So, she made all the lights explode," Emily added.

Adriane nodded. "Apparently. Remember, magic is closely linked to emotions. She looked so peeved when Jason spilled that spagetti on her. Her hair was practically on fire."

The blazing star giggled at the warrior's joke. "Good one."

"Okay, okay, so what do we do?" the healer asked.

No one spoke for what seemed like minutes. Then, Kara said,"We should go and find her after school."

"I vote for that plan," Adriane agreed.

"Me too." Emily nodded.

"Then it's settled. We'll look for this possible mage after school!" Kara whirled around, blond hair twirling, and marched back into the school. The other mages relucantly followed.

* * *

><p>As soon as the whole incident with the light bulbs was over, Jen, Shelby, Angie, and Liv walked to their next class. Jen threw her black jacket over the stain, trying to cover it up until she got home.<p>

"What just happened back there?" Angie finally asked after several moments of silence.

Shelby shrugged. "I have no clue. Maybe Jen is magical."

"Like a musician?" Liv asked.

"You mean 'magician?'"

"Yeah, that too."

"I think Jen's a fairy," Angie laughed.

Jen stopped and whirled around, making her friends crash into one another.

"Look," the red head snapped. "I don't know what happened back there. It probably wasn't even me! The lights in this school are old. You guys know that. They just probably burned out."

"You gotta point," Angie admitted.

"But still," Liv said,"that was weird."

Jen nodded and started walking again. She agreed with Liv. What just happened was weird. She had no idea if it was her or some faulty lighting. Who knows?  
>But when her rage builded up, she had gotten a strange feeling. A feeling unlike any other. As if she had...power. Power beyond her wildest dreams. But the feeling soon faded away as the cafeteria lights stopped exploding. What did it mean? Jen wondered.<p>

The group entered their next class together, and they sat down in their seats. Jen tapped her fingers on her desk. What was happening here?

* * *

><p>After school was over, the three mages walked out of the main door of Stonehill High. The girls scanned the campus carefully, looking for any sign of the mage in question. High school students of all shapes and sizes flooded the campus.<p>

"We're never gonna find her!" Ozzie shouted.

"Shh!" Emily told the loud ferret. "Do you want people to hear you?"

"No." Ozzie stuck his head back into Emily's backpack, staying as quiet as possible.

"You said your rainbow jewel reacted to her, right, Em?" Kara asked.

The healer nodded.

"So," Kara continued,"we'll just, like, track the girls magic. I mean, she must have magic is she's a mage in question."

"Probably," Adriane said. "Let's try it."

"I'll try," Emily offered.

Adriane nodded at her friend. Emily focused, trying to feel the magic around her. She could easily see some magical auras around her. She could see two different magical auras nearby. She recognized them as Lyra, Kara's magical cat, and Dreamer, Adriane's mistwolf. She pushed their auras out of her mind and tried to locate another source. Suddenly, a powerful wave of purple and black magic smashed into her. It was strong, very strong. The healer gasped and looked around. She couldn't see any magical auras amoung the crowd of people. Not one. Where had that wave of magic come from? she wondered. That girl perhaps?

"What's the deal?" Kara asked.

"I... I can't locate her," the healer responed. "A huge wave of magic just hit me right now."

"For real?" Kara shouted.

Emily nodded.

"We have to look around," Adriane said. "The old fashion way."

Emily and Kara nodded.

The girls walked around the campus together. At first, nothing seemed off. Then, Emily noticed something odd.

"Can you feel that?" she whispered.

Adriane and Kara stopped and listened. No one was around so it was pretty quiet to say the least. All the teens must've left the campus already. Adriane looked at Emily. "I don't sense anything."

"Me either," Kara said fingering her jewel.

"You can't? Really? Well, I guess not. The magic is very faint," Emily said.

"Which way?" Ozzie said poking his head out of Emily's backpack. His cheeks puffed out.

"What were you eating?" Emily asked the ferret.

"uHHr... Chips?" The ferret swallowed the contents in his mouth.

"Um, never mind."

The healer turned a corner and walked towards the side of the building, her fellow mages following her.

"Do you feel it now?" Emily asked.

Adriane and Kara nodded. "Dark magic."

* * *

><p>Shelby Anberlin typed away at her computer in technology class. She had a paper due on the history of Stonehill. She wasn't going to get a bad grade now. Not when she worked so hard.<p>

As she typed, Alex Mullen walked over to her.

"Hey," he said casually. Shelby looked up at him and smiled. A hint of blush on her face. "Hi, Alex."

Alex smiled back, happy to see her. Shelby turned away after a moment and continued writing her paper. Alex looked at the computer screen, his face almost touching Shelby's.

"What cha typin'?" he asked.

"A paper for history," she replied.

"Cool."

Shelby kept typing while Alex poked her stomach. After a few minutes, Shelby looked at him, stopping her from typing.

"Why do you always poke me everyday?" she asked.

"Why not?"

Shelby blushed. Good answer, she thought.

Alex reached over and touched Shelby's hand. Suddenly he pulled it back, studying his hand with wide eyes.

"You okay?" Shelby asked him.

Alex looked at her with surprise on his face. "That's so weird. When I touched you, I got a weird feeling."

"Weird how?"

The blond boy looked at her strangely. "Like someone was watching me."

"Hmm. Weird indeed."

Alex stood up and pushed his chair into it's desk. Oh no, Shelby thought. He's leaving!

"I have to go," he said. "Catch you later."

The blond turned and walked to the other side of the classroom. Shelby couldn't believe what just happened. What had driven Alex, her crush, away from her? She had no clue. The black haired girl saved her paper to a flash drive and stood up, pushing her glasses into place with her index and middle finger. The bell rang, and she walked out of the classroom. Alex no where to be seen.

How could I have been so stupid? she thought while walking through the crowded halls. She walked outside and pushed her back against the wall. What did she do wrong? This was going to bother her for the rest of the day for sure. Anger boiled inside of her. She gave people a weird feeling? That can't be right.  
>The crowd of people disappeared after a few minutes. Shelby stayed where she was, thinking deeply.<p>

* * *

><p>Emily, Adriane, and Kara rounded the corner, spotting Shelby against the wall of the school.<p>

_"Is that her?"_ Kara asked Emily telepathiclly.

_"Does she have red hair, genious?"_ Adriane snapped._ "Okay, okay, sorry. Geez."_

The girls walked towards the girl, acting like they were just going to pass her by. A cold chill ran up Emily's spine. A familiar chill.

_"The dark magic is coming from her,"_ Emily said to the other two mages telepathiclly.

The mages eyes widened.

_"Are you sure?"_ Adriane asked.

Emily nodded.

As the girls walked towards Shelby, she pushed off the wall and began to walk towards them. She came close to them. Closer and closer still. As Shelby passed them by, her arm brushed up against Kara's. A wave of fear enveloped the blazing star.

It was a fear she had felt before, when the Spider Witch wove her into a dream spell a few months ago. That was a truely terrifying fear. But she hadn't felt a fear more intense than the fear she was feeling now. The blond hugged herself and clenched her teeth to keep from screaming. Shelby continued to walk on, not knowing what was happening. When she disappeared, Emily and Adriane helped their friend.

_"Kara, what happened?"_ Lyra said as she landed next to her friend.

"I-I don't know," Kara stammered. "There's something up with that girl."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Emily asked.

Kara nodded, staggering to her feet. She was totally fine now. The mage turned towards the direction Shelby was walking in. "So... There are more mages around here?"

_"Looks like it,"_ Dreamer said materializing next to Adriane.

"Great," Ozzie breathed. "More trouble."


	4. Chapter 4

_**4**_

Juls walked next to her sister on their way home, staring at the flower jewel on Jen's wrist. Juls was totally tunned out. Her mind focused on the jewel.

"-and then it flashed," Jen said finishing her story.

"What?" Juls said looking at he sister.

Jen sighed. "Did you listen to a single word I said?"

Juls smiled. "Uh, yeah?"

"Anyway, you know what happened at school today right?"

Jen's sister nodded, her black hair bouncing. "That's really weird."

"I know!"

The girls continued to walk together. At home, the sisters sat together in Juls's room, staring at the flower stone curiously. "What kinda stone do you think it is?" Juls asked.

"I don't know," Jen said. "But judging from the color and shape, I guess opal."

"Way cool! Can you make it glow?"

"I don't know, Juls. Let's see. But I doubt it's gonna work."

"Anything's possible, Sis."

Juls was right, Jen thought. The sisters have always been into the supernatural together. It was like they believed in anything like aliens, big foot, vampires, werewolves, and witches. Jen stared at the stone quietly. After a moment, she closed her eyes. She imagined the stone glowing brightly with beautiful colors, like it did when she was in the cafeteria earlier that day. She highly doubted that it would work. She wasn't magical at all! Or, so she believed.

Suddenly Juls yelled,"Jen, look!"

The red head's eyes snapped open. The stone was shining brightly. Pinks, greens, and blues swirled around the room. The same colors from before!

"Amazing!" Juls shouted. "This is incredible!"

"I can't believe it. How did I...?"

The sisters just stared at the jewel, mezmerized by the colors.

* * *

><p>Liv Azenneth sat on the steps in front of her house, staring at the sky blankly. She was thinking about the idiot Mike, who always bothers them at lunch. Why does he always come to her when he's clearly in love with that other chick, whats-her-name. Liv tapped her foot against the cement and pushed her lip piercing with her finger in thought. Something needs to be done about this. Liv can't move on if Mike doesn't leave her alone.<p>

She sighed as she looked at the empty street. Where's the P.V. when I need one?

P.V. stood for Perfect View. A Perfect View was a guy, Patrick, she had a crush on. That's what she often called her crushes. After a few moments of thinking, Liv stood up and sighed again, black hair falling over her left eye.

"Might as well go inside," she said out loud. She figured she might as well if nothing cool was going to happen.

Liv turned and grabbed the door knob. Suddenly, two large arms wrapped around her waist and lifted up into the air. She screamed as the arms squeezed her tight. Just as fast as it happened, it ended. The arms let her go, and she fell to the ground, landing on her bottom.

"Owww," she groaned looking up.

"Hey, Livy," Mike said smiling at her.

Oh, great, she thought. Him again.

Liv stood up and looked at Mike. "What do you want?"

"I was just walking by and decided to say hello."

That was a really scary hello, Liv thought. She must've had that deer-in-headlights look. "Go away, Mike," Liv snapped as she turned to go inside her house.

"Wait," Mike shouted. "Don't go!"

He wrapped his arms around her waist again playfully, lifting her into the air again.

"Mike!" Liv wailed. "Put me down!"

"No way, Livy!"

Liv struggled against him, but this punk rocker was just too strong. How could she get away?

"Let me go, NOW!"

"Okay, okay, chill."

Mike put Liv on the ground and smiled. The goths stared at each other. Mike stared at Liv lovingly, and Liv stared at Mike evily.

"Why don't you just go away!" Liv shouted.

She pushed Mike with both hands, gathering up all the strength she could to push him away. Mike took a step back, mocking Liv's weakness.

"Wow," he laughed. "That was strong. Here." The punk puffed out his chest. "Have another go, Livy."

"It'll be my pleasure!"

Anger boiled inside the goth girl's blood as she shoved Mike one last time. This time, the punk rocker flew back, landing in the middle of the street. Liv's eyes widened as wind ruffled up her hair. What did I do? she franticlly thought.

Mike sat up, staring wide eyed at the gothic girl. "Whoa. Have you been holding back on me?"

"Just leave, now." Liv glared at Mike with hatred in her eyes. Mike stood up and watched Liv carefully. Before he could say anything, Liv shouted,"If you show up at our lunch table tomorrow you'll regret it!"

"Yeah, right," Mike shouted back.

Suddenly, he fell to the ground. Liv laughed.

"Did you trip over yourself?"

"The wind knocked me down," he said standing up. "I'm out."

Mike quickly walked away.

Did I scare him away? Liv wondered. Of course she didn't. No matter how hard she tried, no one was really scared of her. Not ever. She was just too girl like, even for a goth.

She sighed and turned, heading towards her front door. And what was with that "wind knocking me over" junk? she wondered. Wind isn't that powerful. And besides, it would've knocked her over too. Not just him. This is truely turning out to be a weird day.

* * *

><p>The next day, Juls was sitting inside Mr. Clay's class, waiting for the boring school day to start.<p>

"Urgh," she groaned. "Why does school have to start to sooo early?"

Arabia Stallon, her best friend, turned and looked at her. "Because that's how school is, Juls."

"They should have shorter hours in this place. I agree with Juls," Bobby Douglas, Juls's other gal pal, said from behind her. "I agree with her," Arabia said,"I'm just saying the facts, Bobby."

The girls laughed as Mr. Clay began class.

In the middle of class, while her row was passing back papers, a folded paper landed on Juls's desk.

A note? Juls passed back the rest of the papers and silently opened the note. It was from Arabia.

**Did u hear bout wat happened to ur sis yesturday?**

Juls watched the room carefully to make sure that Mr. Clay wasn't watching. She pulled out her pencil and wrote:

**Yeeaaa. Helllloooooo im her sis! she tells me everythin!**

Juls slipped the note into Arabia's hand quietly. Mr. Clay continued to teach the class as Juls and Arabia wrote notes to each other.  
>Arabia wrote:<p>

**Oooh! well every1's been talkin bout it all day! ur sis is like famous!**

Wow, Juls thought. Word gets around fast.

**its really weird though... i think shes magical :O**

Arabia giggled silently as she read the note.

**mayb ur right JK XD**

Juls knew that Arabia was kidding, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder if it was true. Was her sister truely magical? Or was it just a trick of the light? Or was it just their imagination? She didn't know for sure. But still, she couldn't help but wonder.


	5. Chapter 5

_**5**_

Jen and Shelby walked into Mr. Cozy's class together. They took their seats and started talking to each other.

"Okay," Jen said. "I don't like health class anymore..."

"Oh, come on," Shelby said annoyed. "It's not like-"

"Shh! Don't say it!"

Shelby closed her mouth and smiled. It's not a bad thing to discuss the subject they were studying in health class. But Jen didn't like to hear a word of it. Poor girl, Shelby thought.

Roland came up behind Jen and gave her her daily hug. "Hey."

"Hi, Roland," Jen said cheerfully, her hops stone shining.

"So, how's your day so far?"

"Horrible, as far as health goes."

"How bad was it?"

"Bad."

"To you," Shelby commented. "It wasn't bad to me."

"That's because you're gonna be a really smart doctor one day," Jen snapped.

"And don't you forget it."

The group laughed for a moment.

"Hey, Jen." Roland caught Jen's attention.

The red head looked up at the boy. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering..."

Oh, my God, Jen thought. Was he finally gonna ask her out?

"...if you would like to hang out with me-"

"Hey! Red head! We need to talk!"

Jen, Shelby, and Roland turned to see Kara standing at the door, hands on her hips. Jen couldn't believe that that Princess of the Worse Timing Ever was yelling at her as Roland was just about to ask her out!

"I'll see you later," Roland whispered into Jen's ear. The tall, dark haired boy walked away.

Jen's heart sank. There goes her one chance of ever having Roland ask her out. She looked at Kara and watched as Emily Fletcher and Adriane Charday walked into the classroom, standing next to Kara. The three girls walked over to Jen. Emily sat down in the empty seat in front of Jen, Adriane and Kara standing on either side of the desk.

"Jennifer, was it?" Emily asked.

Jen nodded. "I go by Jen."

"Okay then. We were wondering if you would like to come to Ravenswood with us today after school."

Jen's eyes widened in shock.

Ravenswood? That animal reserve? Why did they want her to go there with them? Jen would've loved to seen the reserve, but why did they ask? Why did they invite her?

She looked back at Shelby. Shelby just shrugged. Kara instantly recognized her.

_"That's the girl from yesterday,"_ Kara said telepathiclly to her friends.

_"Yeah, it is,"_ Adriane responded.

_"Should we invite her too?"_ Emily asked.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Kara nodded. The other mages nodded too.

"You there," Adriane said pointing at Shelby. "Whould like to come too?"

"Her name is Shelby," Jen added coolly, tossing an auburn curl over her shoulder.

"Anyway, you wanna come too?"

Shelby looked at the three girls suspiciously. They seemed like nice people, but what did they want? She guessed that there was only one way to find out.

"Okay. I accept your invitation."

"Great!" Kara said excitedly. "We'll meet you two out front after school."

Emily stood up and walked to her seat along with her friends. Jen and Shelby watched the girls.

"Should we go?" Jen whispered to her friend.

"I think so. Just to see what's going on."

Jen nodded and looked at Mr. Cozy, who was passing out papers. She still couldn't help but wonder what those girls were up to.

* * *

><p>Jen and Shelby stood outside of the main entrance, watching as the crowds of kids walked by.<p>

"So, we wait?" Jen asked.

Shelby nodded. "Of course. It's the end of the school day remember?"

"Yeah, I know."

Just then, Jen's cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She grabbed her phone and flipped it open. It said that she had a new message from her sister Julia.

**Where r u?**

Jen's thumbs flew across the mini keyboard.

**Im gonna b late. Tell mom that ill b home later.**

She pressed send and put the phone back into her pocket.

"Juls?" Shelby asked.

Jen nodded. "Like always."

Her phone vibrated again. Yet another message from her sister.

**Y?**

**Im goin to Ravenswood**

**Y?**

Jen was getting tired of these constant questions. Her sister can be a pain sometimes.

**Some of my... Friends invited me there.**

**Can i come 2?**

Jen sighed.

**No. Ok? Ill c u later.**

She sent the message and turned off her phone. She didn't want to hear any thing from her sister today.

"Is she really bothering you that badly?" Shelby asked.

"Kinda." "Hey, girls."

Liv walked up to the girls, touching her piercing with her index finger.

"Hey, Liv," Jen said to her friend.

"What're you guys doing here?"

"Waiting here for someone," Shelby answered.

"Who?"

"Someone."

Liv frowned. "Why can't I know?"

"'Cause."

The goth pouted.

"Pouting won't help you, Liv," Jen laughed.

Liv laughed once.

As the girls talked, Emily, Adriane, and Kara appeared, stopping at the main steps. They stared at the group.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Emily asked.

"It's the only way," Adriane started,"that we could figure out who or what they are."

"She has a point," Kara added.

Emily nodded and stared straight ahead. Something caught her eye.

"Look," she said. "They have someone else with them."

"Who?" Adriane and Kara asked at the same time.

"Looks like Livy Azenneth."

"That goth girl?"

The healer nodded.

"Great." Kara pouted. "We're probably gonna be friends with goths."

Adriane shot Kara a look.

"But there's something else." Emily reached out with her senses, feeling the magic in the area. She could see the magical auras of her fellow mages. A gold and sliver light pulsed around Adriane and a light pink and gold pulsed around Kara. The healer looked at the group of girls talking. She gasped at what she saw.

A pure white light surrounded Jennifer, making her out shine everyone, except Kara. Shelby's aura was completely different from Jen's. Her aura was a dark purple that was mixed with black. It made her seem ominous, almost evil, but not quite.

Emily couldn't believe what she was seeing. The two girls did posses magic after all! It was incredible. The healer looked at Livy. Her hazel eyes widened in surprise.  
>Livy had a faint, light gray aura surrounding her. It was almost invisible to Emily, but not exactly.<p>

Emily looked at her friends. "From what I can see, they all posses magic."

Kara gasped. "Really? Even Livy?"

Emily nodded.

"Whoa," Adriane breathed.

"This is incredible," Kara said.

"You said it."

The warrior nodded, signalling the mages to move forward.

Jen smiled as she saw the girls approaching them. "Hello."

"Hi," Emily said kindly. "Are you girls ready to go?"

"Go where?" Liv asked, clueless.

"To Ravenswood, of course." Kara grinned.

"You mean Liv's invited too?" Shelby asked.

Adriane nodded. "Sure she is. Now let's go."

The mages turned and began to walk away. Jen, Shelby, and Liv looked at each other. They shrugged and followed the girls.

* * *

><p>Juls shut off her phone angerly.<p>

"How dare she just ditch me!" she shouted.

She jumped up from her chair and grabbed her shoes.

"You're not going to have fun without me, Jenni!"


	6. Chapter 6

_**6**_

Emily, Adriane, Kara, Jen, Shelby, and Liv stood inside the Ravenswood mansion library. Jen, Shelby, and Liv stared in awe at the large, domed library. The girls have never seen a library as big as the Ravenswood library.

The mages sat at the large table near the window, eyeing their guests.

"Okay," Jen started. "What's this all about?"

The healer, warrior, and blazing star looked at each other. They couldn't believe that they were about to reveal their secret to these random people.

"Well," Emily said,"this is kind of hard to explain."

"Hard how?" Jen stared at the girls with concern. Either something was terribly wrong, or terribly surprising.

"Well..." The healer didn't really know how to explain, but she tried. "You see, Kara, Adriane and I are..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "...mages."

Shelby burst into laughter. "Are you insane! There are no such thing as mages!"

"They do exist!" Kara shouted, jumping from her chair.

"Kara," Emily said quietly,"calm down."

The blazing star's unicorn jewel glowed faintly red, then the light disappeared. Kara sat down and took a deep breath, calming her mind.

"Come on," Liv said smiling. "I mean, mages don't really exist, do they?"

Jen glanced at Liv. "I don't know. I mean, like, there's a lot of things about this world that we still don't know. So, it could be possible."

"Jen," Shelby interrupted,"you can't be serious. I know that you're all into the supernatural and stuff but this is crazy!"

"Just give them a chance to prove it!" Jen snapped. "Let them prove us wrong."

Shelby sighed and pushed her glasses into place. "Fine. Prove it, mages."

"Shall we demonstrate, girls?" Kara stood up and smiled, walking over to the window.

"I think we shall," Adriane agreed.

"Same here," Emily added.

The healer and warrior stood up, standing next to the blazing star. Together, the girls concentrated their magic, making perfect balance between rainbow, wolf, and unicorn magic. The girls sent their magic free, letting it wrap itself around Jen, Shelby, and Liv. The girls stood there, too shocked to even move. They saw the magic wrap around them like a colorful mist. Swirling colors of blue, green, pink, gold, silver, and red blended together perfectly in the mist, taking the girl's breath away. None of them has ever seen anything like this before. Suddenly, the mist disappeared. The mages pulled their magic back, making the mist vanish.

Jen, Shelby, and Liv stared at the mages in surprise. "That was amazing!" Jen screamed.

"I've never seen that before," Shelby said.

"That's better than any performance at the magic show," Liv laughed.

The mages smiled.

"Do you believe us now?" Kara grinned brilliantly.

"Heck yeah we do!" Jen shouted, throwing both fists into the air. Then she stopped.

"So, wait. Why are you telling us this?"

The mages looked at one another.

Emily said,"We think you three are mages."

The girls gasped.

"Us?" Liv shouted in disbelief.

"How's that possible?" Shelby asked, shocked.

"Well," Adriane started,"we're not sure how, but we can tell you that you three are most possibly mages."

"How can you tell?" Jen asked.

"I can see magical auras," Emily explained,"because I am a healer."

"A healer? You mean like a person who can heal other people?"

"And animals."

"Whoa."

Adriane nodded. "I am a warrior."

"And I'm a blazing star!" Kara exclaimed loudly, twirling around like a princess.

Jen's hand twitched. This was all too much to hear in one day. Plus, there was too many questions.

Shelby groaned and slumped into a chair. "The next thing you know, animals will start talking."

The two large doors to the library suddenly burst open. Lyra and Dreamer pounced onto a girl, Ozzie perched on Lyra's back.

"That'll teach you to spy on people!" the ferret yelled.

"I spoke too soon..." Shelby said wide eyed. Ozzie jumped off of Lyra's back and ran examined the girl.

"We were about to come back to the library when we saw this girl pressed against the library doors. We think that GAH!"

The ferret stared at the three other girls in the room. He walked over to the nearest person(which was Jen) and kicked her foot. "Take that, intruder!"

"Ozzie," Emily said picking up the ferret,"these girls are our friends!"

"Oooh... Really?"

"Yes."

Emily put Ozzie down on the floor. He looked up at Jen, then at Shelby and Liv.

"So," he said,"these are those mages?"

"So to say," Jen said. "And may I say that you, Ozzie, are the cutest ferret I've ever seen."

"Dido," Shelby said,"though Draco always comes first."

"Hey! Don't try to butter me up! Wait, what did you say?" The ferret eyed Jen.

"I said," Jen repeated,"that you are the cutest ferret I've ever seen."

"I like her," Ozzie smiled at Jen.

"Of course you do," Adriane and Kara said.

"Hey! Can someone get these animals off of me!" the girl yelled.

Jen instantly recongized that voice.

"Juls?"

"Jen!"

"Who?" the mages said at once.

"That's my sister!" Jen shouted. "Get off of her!"

"Lyra, Dreamer, step back," Emily told her animal friends.

The cat and mistwolf got off of Juls. She stood up and ran to her sister. "These animals attacked me!"

"What the heck are you doing here?" Jen shouted.

Juls flinched, looking down. "I wasn't going to let you have all the fun, so I followed you to Ravenswood. I didn't know that I was going to get attacked by wild animals!"

"Hey!" the warrior yelled.

"Don't talk about our friends like that!" the blazing star fumed.

"Well, your friends tried to kill me!"

"Juls!" Jen shouted. "That's enough!"

Juls glanced at the animals, then she looked at the mages. "So," she said,"my sister is a mage, huh?"

Emily, Adriane, and Kara frowned.

_"Great,"_ Kara told her friends telepathiclly. _"She's knows our secret."_

_"What now?"_ Adriane asked.

There was silence among the room. "Emily?" Kara worried about her friend.

"Shh. Hold on a second."

Emily looked at Jen's sister with her magical vision. At first, there was nothing. But then a combination of blues blossomed from the girl, sending a cool ocean breeze through the air.

"Well, what do you know," Emily said out loud.

"What is it?" Ozzie asked.

"Looks like the litte Sis has magic too."

Jen, Shelby, and Liv looked at Juls.

"Me?" she gasped, pointing at herself.

Emily nodded, a smile on her face. "You got it."

"No way!" Juls shouted. She squealed with joy at the thought of her being magical.

"Wow. Is your sister always like that?" Kara asked Jen.

Jen nodded. "Pretty much."

After Juls calmed down, she sat in a chair and stared at the mages. "So, what now?"

"Well, we should probably figure out what kind of mages you four are," Ozzie said.

He looked over at Jen and locked on the crystalized flower on her wrist. He gasped and ran over to her. He jumped on a nearby table and grabbed the stone flower, examining it.

"Can I help you?" Jen asked sarcasticly as she was being tugged.

"No way! What kind of flower is this?" the ferret asked.

"Hops. Why?"

Ozzie ran across the table and opened the large, leather book Adriane had found. He flipped through the book and stopped on page 61. "Here," he nearly shouted. "What's your Zodiac, Jen?"

"I'm a Libra."

"Here! Look!" Jen looked over the ferret's shoulder. "Libra's flowers are hops. And your stone is Opal. If a person where to find a crystalized flower that belongs to  
>their Zodiac, then that means that they are a Zodiac Mage!"<p>

"Let me see that!" Kara shouted, grabbing the book. She skimmed the page and gasped. "Ozzie's right!"

"This is so cool," Jen breathed. "I'm a Zodiac Mage..."

"And it looks like whatever your element is, then that's your power," Kara added.

"Really? What's my element?"

It was quiet for a moment as Kara read.

"Light," she smiled.

Jen couldn't feel more excited. This was amazing to her. She couldn't believe that she was a Zodiac Mage!

"Wait, what about my friends?" Jen asked. The mages glanced at one another.

"We don't know exactly," Emily said,"but maybe we'll find out."

"This stinks!" Juls complained. "I don't even know what I am!"

_"Patience,"_ Lyra said to the anxious girl. _"You must have patience."_

Juls looked at the spotted cat and nodded sadly.

"Well," Adriane continued,"while we wait, let's get to work on controlling those powers of yours, girls."

"Right now?" Shelby asked.

"Well, of course. I mean, we need to start right away, or your powers could get out of control."

"Oh, really." Shelby crossed her arms across her chest. "Look, mages, you don't even know what kind of powers we posses. Well, except Jen, of course. So how are  
>we suppose to learn how to control them?"<p>

The room grew quiet. Shelby knew she was right. After all, she's always number one.

"We could figure it out," Liv suggested.

"And how long do you that'll take?"

Liv closed her mouth before she could say anything else.

"My point proven."

Adriane looked at Emily. "I guess we should start telling them about the web."

"Good start."

Emily stepped forward. "Okay everyone. Since we can't start teaching you any real magic yet, we're going to tell you about the magic web."

"The what in the where now?" Juls sat up in her chair.

"The magic web, dork," Jen teased her sister.

"We might as well start from there," Kara said.

"Okay, so what is the 'magic web' exactly?" Shelby asked.

The mages sat down at the large table. They knew that this was going to take some time.


	7. Chapter 7

_**7**_

The mages explained almost everything. They explained the magic web, the different animals on the different sections of the web, spells, the magic itself, and the different creatures and types of mages of the web. They even told the story of how they accomplished saving the web by defeating the Dark Sorceress.

"Whoa," was all Juls could say.

"You three have been everywhere and done everything," Jen commented.

"Most likely," Kara said. Shelby stared at the table. This blows, she thought. Jen already know what she is. The other three of them had no clue what so ever! Shelby wished that she knew what type of mage she was for real.

She stood up. "I have to go."

"Why?" Jen stood up too.

"It's almost five o'clock. You know that my mom wants me home for dinner."

"Oh, yeah."

"We'll walk you out of the forest. It can get pretty confusing without a guide," Adriane offered.

"No, thanks anyway," Shelby smiled. "I can handle it."

"Are you sure?" Juls asked.

Shelby nodded. "I'm not as helpless as I seem."

She turned and walked out of the double doors, making her way outside. She began walking on the trail, then stopped. She looked off into the distance. Thick forest loomed at the other end of a small field. She knew that she shouldn't even try to look, but she did. Something... Something was calling to her. She didn't feel scared or anything. She was relatively calm, surprisingly. She stared at the trees for a few moments more. She shook her head. It's probably nothing, she thought. She began to walk away.

Suddenly, there was a flash of purple light. Shelby turned abruptly to see the purple light fade into the trees.

It's mocking me, Shelby thought angerly.

She tightened her grib on her backpack and started walking across the field. With each stride, she became closer and closer to the thickness of the forest. She decended into the trees and kept walking to where she saw that light. After a few minutes of walking, she came to a lake. The lake sparkled in the evening sun, making it shimmer.

"Interesting," Shelby said out loud. She's seen this lake somewhere before. But where?

A flash of purple caught her eye again. The light came from the other side of the lake. Shelby walked around the lake quickly, trying to save time. She looked around and saw nothing that could've made a light that bright. Nothing at all.

"Psst," she spat,"this was a waste of time."

As she turned to walk away, she fell onto the grass. She cursed under her breath and moved to her knees. What had she tripped over? She turned back to see a rose by her foot. "A flower? Really?" she said angerly. How could she have tripped over a flower? She has been known to fall over flat surfaces, but this was ridiculous!  
>She grabbed the flower and stood up. Only then did she realize that the flower was as hard as a rock. It was completely crystalized. Just like Jen's, she thought. She examined the flower for a second. It was truely pretty. The rose gleamed with deep purple and black, giving it a daring look. Fascinating, Shelby thought.<p>

A weird feeling ran up the girls spine.

Something suddenly slammed into her with great force, almost knocking her down. She felt like she was slipping away, being sweept away by a massive current. She couldn't breath for a second, but then caught her breath as she tightened her grip on the flower.

"What's happening?" she gasped as another force slammed into her. This time the wave was bigger. It felt more deadly. The pressure was pushing down on her very being, crushing her to the core.

Shelby screamed. Wind blew through the area as black tendrills of magic swirled around her. Suddenly the magic exploded, soaring into the air.

* * *

><p>"Whoa, do you guys see that?" Juls stood up and ran to the window. "It's like a black cloud out there!"<p>

The mages, their bondeds, Jen, and Liv ran to the large window and peered outside. The grouped gasped as they saw a large portion of magic being released into the sky. The magic wave ran across the forest with great force that it looked like wind.

"We have to get there," Emily said. "That's where Crystal Lake is!"

"This is bad," Kara said.

"Let's go!" Adriane and dreamer ran for the door. Emily and Ozzie followed the warrior, followed by Kara and Lyra. Jen looked at her friend and sister.

"Let's go too," she said and ran to follow her fellow mages.

After a few seconds, Juls and Liv took off too, running after the girls.

Jen, Liv, and Juls caught up to the mages as they ran towards the glade. The group passed the rocking stone and entered the glade. They stopped immediately, staring at the scene unfolding.

Shelby was covering her face with her hands, hunched over. Her body trembled as torn black and purple strands of magic hovered around her, black hair flowing in the firece wind.

"What's happening?" Juls shouted over the noise.

"Dark magic is pouring out of her!" Adriane screamed.

"She can't control it! She'll flood the center of the web with dark magic if we don't stop her!" Emily yelled.

"But... But how?" Jen stared at her friend, worried. Would she be able to save her?

* * *

><p>Inside, Shelby was subcoming to the darkness.<p>

She was sinking into her own dark magic, and she couldn't stop it! She struggled against the incredible power, but it was completely useless. What's the point? she asked herself.

She let go, letting the darkness take over.

* * *

><p>A beautiful voiced filled the air as the group watched the out of control mage in front of the lake. "What's that noise?" Liv asked absently.<p>

"I... I don't know," Kara shouted.

Emily listened closely to the voice. It sounded familiar. It wasn't being carried by the wind, but coming from in front of them!

"It's her!" the healer cried. "Shelby's trying to spellsing!"

The voice filled the air with sorrowful songs. Jen recongized them as some of her favorite songs.

**_I hold my breath as this life starts to take it's toll I hide behind the smile as this perfect plan unfolds _**

**_But, oh, God, I feel I've been lied to_**

The familiar song rang through Jen's head. Suddenly, Shelby shifted to another song.

_**So tell me where were you **_

_**When everything fell down like thunder **_

_**I begged you to pull me through **_

_**I couldn't get out from under **_

_**I took the fall **_

_**I took it all **_

_**Must've just been an illusion**_

Then another song.

**_It's like I'm paranoid, looking over my back _**

**_It's like a whirlwind inside of my head _**

**_It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within _**

**_It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin_**

Shelby spellsang other songs. Suddenly the ground rumbled, making everyone, except Shelby, wobble back and forth. The lake in front of her turned pink and started to swirl. The girl continued her spellsongs of sorrow as the pink lake swirled faster, becoming bigger.

**_I saw you look away _**

**_Is what you see too much to take?_**  
><strong><em><br>Or are you glad of seeing nothing?_**  
><strong><em><br>I saw you run away _**

**_Is what I've done too much to take?_**  
><strong><em><br>Or are you scared of being nothing?_**

The pink lake grew bigger until, finally, it swallowed Shelby, dragging her into the unknown web. Adriane ran forward, golden fire bursting from her wrist. She swirled the magic into a long rope and tried to snag Shelby, but missed.

The warrior tripped over, almost falling into the portal. Dreamer ran up to bonded and grabbed her shirt with his teeth, pulling her back. Adriane fell back on the mistwolf.

Suddenly, the portal closed. The lake returned to its natural hues of blue and green. The group stared at the lake in shock. Jen ran to Adriane and grabbed her collar, pulling the dark haired girl to her level.

"Where did my friend go?" she demanded. "Where's Shelby?"

"We don't know!" Emily wedged herself between the two girls, trying to prevent a fight.

Adriane snarled at Jen, barring her teeth. Dreamer growled at the red head. Anger flared in the Zodiac Mage's eyes as her flower stone flashed dangerously red.

"We'll figure it out, Jen," Emily said calmly. "Don't worry. We'll find out where she went."

"Hmmph." Jen crossed her arms over her chest angerly and looked at the lake. She sighed. "Alright. But we better hurry. Her mom would be so ticked is she's not home by five."


	8. Chapter 8

_**8**_

Shelby's eyes slowly opened.

She slowly sat up. She felt something soft underneath her. She looked down and saw a that she was sitting on a very soft black couch. Rubbing her forehead she looked around the room. The room was completely painted black. Black shelves held up strange bottles of unknown objects, black carpet covered the floor, a large  
>black table was postioned on one side of the room, and a huge bed with(of course) black sheets and pillows cases occupied the other side of the room.<p>

Shelby moved her feet to the floor and stood up, looking around the suspicious room. A small lamp on the table casted an eerie glow over the dark room. She made her way to one of the shelves on the wall, looking into the contents of the bottles. I hope that's not an eye, she thought as she looked into a beeker.

"Oh, so you're awake?"

Startled, she whirled around. A tall boy with black hair stood on the other side of the table, near an open door. Shelby stared at the boy. He seemed suspicious.

"Who are you? Where am I?" she asked.

The boy stared at her curiously. That's when Shelby noticed he had purple eyes.

"Are you even human?" She kept asking the questions.

"Are you, my dear?" the boy said, answering her question with another.

Shelby flinched. What was this boy up to?

"Of course, I'm human! The question is, are you?"

The boy chuckled, a slight smile lingering on his face. He closed the door and walked into the light. A long, deep purple cloak was draped around him. His eyes were lavender mixed with deep purple, while his jet black hair was streaked with the same shade of purple. This guy really likes purple, Shelby thought.

"I guess you can say that I am human," he said coolly. "But I control great magic. As you can see..." The boy grabbed the neck of his cloak and pulled it down, revealing a black leather choker. In the middle of the choker was a beautiful aqua rose, protected with a glass covering, as if it were fine jewelry. Purple and black mixed with the aqua color of the jewel.

"I am a Zodiac Mage. And so are you."

Shelby didn't respond.

The boy shook his head, pulling his cloak over the choker. "Oh, my. How could I have forgotten my manners? I am Malikai, the Gemini, the Dark Zodiac Mage. And you, my dear, are...?"

Shelby didn't really didn't want to tell this stranger her name, but for some reason, she felt...safe around him. "I'm Shelby Anberlin."

"Nice to meet you." Malikai walked to the wall and flipped a switch, making the main light come on. Shelby blinked for a moment, her eyes adjusting to the light.

"As I was saying before," Malikai said,"you are a Zodiac Mage, Shelby."

"How do you figure that?"

"By the crystalized flower you're holding. It's the same type and color that my flower is."

Shelby looked at her clenched fist. She hadn't realized that she was still holding the crystalized rose in her hand. She stared at the beautiful gem in her palm.

"So," she started. "You're saying that my Zodiac's flower is a rose?"

Malikai nodded. "That's correct."

Shelby wasn't exactly shocked. Maybe a little, but not a lot. At least she knew what she was know. Suddenly her memory came flooding back into her mind.

"Wait, what happened when I was at the lake?"

Malikai looked at her and waved his hand. Mist swirled in the middle of the table as his eyes glowed. The mist shifted, transforming into a foggy image at first. Then it cleared.

Shelby saw herself standing in front of the lake, losing all the sense and logic she had left. Her voice rang out as she spellsang the sorrowful songs. The lake in front of her turned pink, then swallowed her whole. She waved her hand through the mist, making the image disappear. "That couldn't have been me," she grumbled.

"Oh, but it was." Malikai touched the stone flower in Shelby's hand. "You see, when a Dark Zodiac Mage has contact with their jewel for the first time, they lose all sense of control. This is because we are one of the most powerful mages in the Zodiac line up. When a Dark Zodiac Mage is bonded to their jewel, their power increases ten fold, making it almost impossible to control. Sometimes, the dark magic over powers you. That's what happened to me, and you. You simply couldn't control all that power, and the dark magic started to take you over. But, you see, right now you have perfect control. That's because you're calm at the moment. Magic is closely linked to emotions."

Shelby let this information sink in. Malikai was good at explaining things.

"So how can I control these powers?" she asked.

"I can teach you. I can teach you everything I know, which is a lot." He laughed a little. "I am a master at the dark magic now."

"Very interesting..."

Shelby thought this over. She needed to master these new powers so that she could live peacefully without another one of those...episodes.

"I think that we should put that rose into a bracelet for you first," Malikai said, slightly smiling.

"Is that a bribe?"

He laughed. "No, no. Not a bribe. An offer. Would you like me to?"

Shelby thought it over for a moment. It would look pretty stylish on her wrist. "Okay, but make it quick."

"Fantastic."

Malikai took the rose from Shelby and sat down at the table. "You can sit on the couch and wait. This will only take a few moments."

She nodded and sat on the couch. She stared around the room as Malikai worked on her new bracelet. A thought accured to her. Why was she letting this guy help her? Why was she letting him talk to her? And most of all, why was she letting him make a bracelet for her? But, oddly, she felt safe around this boy. As if she could trust him completely. Strange.

Malikai stood up and walked over to Shelby, taking the empty seat next to her.

"All finished." He held up the black and purple bracelet. The aquamarine rose was placed perfectly inside a glass covering. The bracelet looked almost exactly like his choker, except that his choker was all black.

"I would've perferred purple and green, but this is cool too." Shelby took the bracelet from Malikai and examined it. The rose was undoubtably beautiful. She slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and smiled. A perfect fit. She looked at Malikai and smiled.

"Thanks."

"The pleasure is all mine," he said smiling.

Shelby suddenly stood up. "Oh, my God! I need to get home!"

Malikai stood up.

"Come with me and I shall take you home."

Shelby lifted an eyebrow. "You can?"

Malikai nodded and walked towards the door. She followed him without hesitation. They walked through the door, which lead them outside. At least Shelby thought it was outside. The skies were dim, filled with gray clouds. The trees around them were completely dead, and the trees that weren't dead had black leaves on it. The grass was completely dark brown, and in the distance, spikes stuck up from the ground. Black, purple, green, and midnight blue wild flowers grew in some places, but even they looked dead.

Malikai walked around what Shelby assumed was his house and headed towards a narrow trail. As they followed the trail, red and yellow eyes stared at them from the surrounding forest.

Shelby, instictively, grabbed Malikai's arm and squeezed.

"Do not be afraid," he said. "Dark beasts are our friends."

"Oh, like you're so sure."

"I have been for years."

At the end of the trail was a large clearing. Tall dead grass filled the place while those wild flowers circled the field. They walked to the center of the field and stopped. Malikai closed his eyes and concentrated. In the trees in front of them, red eyes flashed brighter than any other they have seen. That's when a large, black horse emerged from the dead forest. The beast galloped over to the Zodiac Mages and bowed it's head to Malikai. Malikai patted the beast on its head.

"Shelby, meet Virgasphire, my bonded horse."  
>"Um, hello." She studied the horse, natural curiousity filling her. The horse was entirely black, with blazing red eyes and silver hooves. The maine and tail was made out of pure black fire, the same fire licked the back of its legs.<p>

"What-" Shelby began to ask. Malikai held up a hand to stop her.

"He's a nightstallion."

"Oh."

Shelby didn't like the evil look of the horse, but strangely, she liked the creature itself.

"So, how will I get home?"

"Like this."

Malikai placed his hand on Virgasphire's neck and closed his eyes. He pulled down this cloak, revealing the aquamarine rose on his neck. The rose's color shifted to bright pink, which made Malikai and his horse wince.

They must not like pure good magic, Shelby thought. Suddenly, a portal swirled open in the middle of the field. It grew bigger and bigger until it was about the size of Malikai's horse, who was really huge for a horse.

"Go through that portal," Malikai said pointing. "Feel the magic of the center of the web and follow it. That should lead you home."

Shelby nodded and took a step forward. She stopped.

"Wait, what about you?"

"I will stay here, of course."

"You're not going to lead me through?"

"Dark magic and good magic do not mix. Although, I have made a few trips into the magic web."

"Good to know. But, will I see you again?"

"In time, my dear."

Shelby smiled, standing in front of the portal. Then she remembered something.

"Wait, one more question. What is this place?"

Malikai smiled, making Shelby's heart beat hard against her rib cage. Virgasphire whinnied.

"The Otherworlds."

With a wave of his hand, Malikai set dark magic forward, gently pushing Shelby into the portal. Then, she vanished.


	9. Chapter 9

_**9**_

"Tweek, can you track her?" Emily spoke via dragon fly to the tiny Experimental Fairimental back at Ravenswood manor.

"I think I can," the E.F. responded. Emily could hear the tapping of the keyboard back at the library. "Oh, me twig! She's moving through the web right now! And she's heading this way!"

"She is?"

"It appears so!"

Emily pressed Fred's belly, severing the connection. The mini jumped up and flew around the group.

Jen approached Adriane. "Sorry about eariler."

Adriane smiled at the red head. "Nah, it's okay. I know what it's like to be angry."

"So, we're cool?"

Adriane nodded and Jen smiled. Juls tapped Liv on the shoulder. "So, Livy, where do you get your clothes?"

Liv sighed and started explaining where she got each and every part of her outfit.

Suddenly the lake in the glade turned pink and swirled. The group watched the portal carefully until Shelby came shooting out of it, landing on the grass.  
>The portal closed just as abruptly as it opened.<p>

"Shelby!" Jen ran over to her friend and gave her a hug. Suddenly she was showered with questions.

"What happened?"

"Where did you go?"

"Are you okay?"

"Where did you get that bracelet?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at her new bracelet. The aquamarine rose glowed a soft purple.

"Um... Well..."

"Spill it!" Juls shouted.

"Can I explain on the way out of this forest?" Shelby shouted as she stood up. "I have a half an hour until I'm suppose to be home."

"Okay, okay. Let's go." Emily, Adriane, and Kara lead the girls through the old portal field onto the path. Along the way, Shelby explained her experience with the strange and handsome Malikai.

"Then I showed up here," she said, concluding her story.

"Awww," Juls said,"how romantic."

"It wasn't romantic!" Shelby shouted, her face flushing. "Besides, he was nice enough to guide me home."

"At least," Jen said,"he made you that pretty bracelet to go along with your pretty rose."

"Yeah."

"Where did you say you ended up?" Kara asked as they made it to the end of the trail. "Uh, the Otherworlds. Why?"

_"A place where dark magic lives freely,"_ Lyra said. _"It is not a wonder that you were sent there."_

"Maybe I wasn't sent there," Shelby said. "Do you think that Malikai summonded me there?"

_"It's a possiblity," _Dreamer said.

"Most likely. The Otherworlds is the only place on the entire web that harbors dark magic. You would probably feel right at home there," Emily added.

"You're right. I did feel kinda safe and at ease there."

"See what I mean?"

Shelby looked at her friends. "I should be getting home now. I'll see you all tomorrow at school."

The mage turned and walked back home. Jen, Juls, and Liv looked at the mages.

"We should probably be heading home too," Jen said.

"Awww, why?" Juls whined. "I wanna learn more about magic." She waved her hands around as if she was spreading around magic.

Kara laughed. "You can learn more tomorrow. Okay?"

Juls nodded happily.

"See you guys tomorrow," Liv said as she, Jen, and Juls walked away from the reserve.

The mages waved until their new friends disappeared in the distance. The group sighed. Even the animals.

"Do you think we made a mistake, bringing them here?" Ozzie asked as he jumped onto Emily's shoulder.

"I don't think so," the healer responded. "I think we might've helped them."

* * *

><p>The hallways were entirely quiet as Haley Williams rushed through them. She was going to be late to gym class if she didn't hurry. She glanced at her watch and gasped, nearly tripping over herself.<p>

"It's already one thirty five!" she shouted. "I'm already soooo late!"

She started running towards the gym, almost tripping over her untied shoe laces. She burst through the gym door just as the gym teacher, Mrs. Joseph, was taking attendance. Haley quietly stood in her spot at the end of the line, waiting to be marked here.

"And why were you late, Miss Williams?" Mrs. Joseph barked.

Oh, shiz, Haley thought. "I, um, was being held up by a teacher. Sorry, Mrs. Joseph."

"Good excuse, but not good enough. You know my rules. You can either accept the tardy, or you could do twenty push ups. Your choice."

Haley cursed under her breath. She already had two tardies in this class. If she gets another one, then she's got detention. Slowly, she stepped forward. "I'll do the push ups," she said sluggishly.

Mrs. Joseph nodded. As the rest of the kids in her class played random games, Haley had to do twenty, painful push ups. She hated push ups, but she rather do that instead of getting another tardy, which could lead to in school suspension or detetion. But, surprisingly, the push ups were so easy on her. She was able to do twenty perfect push ups with hardly any effort at all. Mrs. Joseph stared at her with a small hint of surprise.

"Well done, Williams. Now you may go and play."

Haley jumped up from the ground and ran towards the weight room. She couldn't believe how strong she has become. "Guess those weeks and weeks and weeks of working out payed off after all," she said as she stood on the tredmil. She pressed the "quick start" button and started running. 4.5 speed was beginning to be too slow to her. So, she cranked up the speed to 5.5. Still too slow, and she wasn't even sweating yet! She made the speed go higher up to 7.8. A little faster, but not quite. She made the number of the speed go up to the highest level: 9.0. To her surprise, it was still too slow.

"What's going on?" she asked herself. She didn't even sound as if she out of breath! Her muscles were not tensing up, they didn't ache, her breathing was normaly, her heart rate was normal. Everything was completely normal. The only non normal thing was that she was going way too slow. She knew... No... She needed to go faster and faster, testing her abilities to the limit! Sara James, the fastest runner in the entire gym class, couldn't even match up to Haley's speed. Sara watched as Haley ran without tension. Worried for her, she called Mrs. Joseph.

The teacher causually walked over and peered into the weight room. Her eyes widened as she saw Haley run at the highest speed possible for the tredmil. "Hey!" she yelled. "Miss Williams, aren't you tired yet? Aren't your muscles aching?"

"Nope!" Haley shouted back. "Actually, I feel mighty fine!"

"Nobody has ever ran that fast before," Mrs. Joseph said in disbelief. "This is incredible!"

All the other students started gathering at the door of the weight room and watched as Haley ran the impossible. People gasped as Haley ran for a total of ten minutes now, not stopping once.

"This is amazing!" someone shouted.

"Truely momumental!" someone else yelled.

"She beated my record!" Sara shouted, appauled by Haley.

Haley didn't care about what the crowd thought, she didn't care about anything. All she cared about was going faster. Suddeny the machine beeped. One the screen, the red letters said "Workout Over," and it started to shut down. Haley slammed her fist against the machine.

"Turn back on so that I can run!" she shouted. When the machine didn't respond, Haley jumped off and strided towards the door. She stopped when she saw the entire gym class, plus the teacher.

"What?" she said, then pushed her way through the crowd, heading towards a nearby basketball.

* * *

><p>Haley walked through the door of her house after school. She couldn't believe she ran that fast. It was incredible of what should could do. Haley set her backpack down on the floor and walked to the kitchen. Boxes were pilled against the wall, filled with kitchen supplies. As was every other room in the house.<p>

"Hi, Haley," her mom said as she entered the room. "How as your last day?"

"Very...eventful." Haley grabbed an apple from the frige and started bitting into it. "So, is everything packed?"

"Just about. We're going to be leaving in one hour."

"Tell me, Mom. Where are we moving to again?" Her mother smiled.

"To Stonehill, of course, where your cousins are. You wanted to move there, yes?"

Haley nodded then smiled. "Cha of course! I haven't seen mi Cuzos in forever! It's sad, to have to be leaving my home here in South Bend, but it's okay, because I know that I will always keep in touch with my friends here, plus make some new friends in Stonehill!"

"That's the spirit! Now go and get your brothers. It's time to get going."

Haley nodded and walked towards the back door, apple still in her hand.

"I'm coming," she said quietly. "I'm coming, Jennifer and Julia."


	10. Chapter 10

_**10**_

Jen, Shelby, Liv, Hailey, and Angie sat at their table together, eating their lunch.

"That was something that happened yesterday," Liv whispered in Jen's ear.

Jen nodded. "Yeah it was. It was crazy!"

"What happened?" Angie asked.

Jen and Liv jumped, startled by their friend. "We'll, uhm... We were both watching..."

"Fearisode yesterday!" Jen added to Liv's broken up sentence. "It was crazy! You should've watched, Angie."

"I'll catch it next week," Angie replied.

Liv looked over to see Mike heading towards their table. Oh, great, she thought. Didn't she tell him a few days ago to stop coming over to their table?

As he approached, a tall blond hair girl walked towards the table.

"Jen!"

Jen turned around to see the blond heading towards her.

"Who's that?" Liv asked.

"Oh... My... God!" Jen stared wide eyed at the girl.

"What?" Shelby nearly shouted.

"That's my cousin!"

"Your what?" Everyone at the table shouted. They all knew that Jen didn't have any relatives at the school, so this was a surprise to them.

"Mi Cuzo!" Jen jumped up from her chair, knocking it over. She ran to Haley Williams and gave her a huge bear hug. "It's been so long!" she cried.

"I know it's been!" Haley shouted.

Everyone at the table stared at the cousins. Liv noticed Mike stop and turn away, heading in the other direction. Liv smiled and ate her piece of bread. Thank you, Cuzo.

"Please, come and join us at our table," Jen said gesturing to her table. Haley nodded and pulled up a chair, sitting next to her cousin.

Jen smiled. "Eveyone, this is Haley, my cousin who lives in South Bend, Indiana."

"Hello," everyone muttered.

"Lived in South Bend," Haley corrected.

"No way! You moved here?"

"Yep."

Jen smiled happily. "That's amazing!"

"I know right?"

The girls laughed.

As the girls at the table got to know Haley a little more, the mages at a different table were watching them.

"Jen has a weird cousin," Kara said.

"And you don't think Juls is weird?" Adriane asked.

"Nope. I like Juls, even though she looks like a mini version of Liv, but without the piercings."

"Good point."

"We should go and say hi," Emily said.

"I don't want to. They look way too hyper," Adriane said.

"But it might be fun."

"Maybe later."

Emily slumped in her chair as she watched the girls. She wanted to go and talk. And she will. The healer stood up and walked over to the table. "Hi."

"Oh, hey, Emily," Jen said, greeting her fellow mage. Emily and Jen's jewels softly glowed in response to each others magic. Shelby's jewel pulsed a soft purple, like usual.

"This is Emily," Shelby said to Haley,"oh, and those two are Adriane and Kara."

Emily turned to see her fellow mages standing behind her.

"You didn't think we'd let you go it alone now, did you?" Kara whispered to Emily. The healer smiled at her friends.

"Thanks."

The mages sat down at the table and began a conversation with the rest of the group.

* * *

><p>Jen and Shelby started walking towards Stonehill Junior High with Haley at their heels.<p>

"Where're we going?" she asked.

"Where going to pick up Juls," Shelby replied.

"Awesome!"

The girls stood outside of the middle school together, waiting for Juls to show up. "So, what does Juls look like now?" Haley asked. "The last time I saw her, she was blond, always wearing pink and red outfits."

Jen and Shelby laughed. "Then you're in for a real surprise."

"Why is that?"

Just then, Juls walked up to them, smiling at her friends. "Hey, guys-"

She stopped short and stared at the blond girl before her.

"Haley?"

"Juls? Is that really you?"

Juls gave her cousin a big hug. Haley couldn't believe the change she saw in her cousin. The once very blond hair was now jet black. Juls was dressed in black skinny jeans, a ripped black shirt, and a choker with a fake rosary was around her neck.

"You've completely changed," Haley said. "But I like it!"

"Great!" The girls walked down Oak Avenue, heading towards the Raveswood Presevre.

"Where're we going?" Haley asked.

"Uh..." Jen looked at Shelby then back at her cousin. "You should probably go home. We have to go to the library."

Haley looked at her cousin with a questioned look. They were hiding something. Something big, by the sounds of it. "Can I come?"

"Not today. You still need to get settled at your new home, right?" Juls said.

Haley shook her head. "Nope. My mom and stepbrothers have that job."

"You should still come home and help them anyway," Jen suggested.

Haley shrugged. "I'm going with you guys."

The girls looked at each other. Should they let her go with them to Ravenswood? Probably not, but Jen had a feeling that they should. Like as if it were important.

"Alright, come on." The red head started walking towards the resevre. Shelby and Juls's jaws dropped. How could Jen let her cousin go? They looked at other then kept walking. When they arrived at the beginning of the trail, the three mages were waiting for them, ready to guide them to the mansion. They noticed the addition to the group.

"Hey, Jen, what's your cousin doing here?" Kara asked. "'Cause we, like, didn't invite her."

"I just thought that she should come, you know?" Jen went up to Emily and whispered to her,"I just have a feeling that my cousin should be here."

Emily nodded and Jen smiled a thank you.

The mages lead the group along the trail to the mansion. Once inside, the girls went up to the library.

"Whoa!" Haley shouted as she stared up. "This library is extrordinary!"

"Isn't it?" Kara smiled.

"Yeah, it is."

The mages sat in front of the computer as Jen, Shelby, Juls, and Haley sat at the large table. Haley stared around the library in awe.

"Do you think any of the animals will bother us?" Adriane asked Emily quietly.

"No," the healer responded. "I sent them all a mental message saying to stay out of the library."

"Good. I just hope that the dragon-"

_Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!_

"I spoke too soon..."

The mages turned to see the five, colorful dragonflys. Jen, Shelby, Juls, and Haley stared at the minis.

"What're those things?" Haley asked, a little shakey.

"We're busted!" Juls shouted.

"Shut up!" Jen whispered to her sister.

The dragonflys looked at Haley. They flew over to her, laughing and chirping.

"Who this?" Goldie squeaked.

"I'm Haley," she said.

"Haley!" The dragonflys flew around her happily. Barney and Fiona landed on her shoulders while Blaze landed on her head. Goldie and Fred pulled at strands of her hair. She giggled as the dragonflys played with her. The other girls stared at the scene.

"Well," Kara said,"at least they like you."

"But why are they attracted to her?" Adriane asked. Emily reached out with her magical vision. She saw everyone's aura dance around them. To her surprise, the healer saw that Haley had magic. Her aura was bright orange, mixed with an asortment of light brown. Odd, Emily thought. She has never seen that color before.

"She has magical aura too," she said to the others.

"Magical what?" Haley and the dragonflys looked at Emily.

"What is this?" Juls asked. "A magical family?"

"Seems like it," Shelby asked.

"We might as well start explaining," Adriane said. The other mages nodded.

"Haley," Jen said. "You might wanna sit down for this."

* * *

><p>Over the next hour, the mages explained what they explained to Jen, Shelby, Liv, and Juls the day before. Haley just nodded, understanding all that she could understand.<p>

"So, do you get it?" Shelby asked.

Haley nodded. "Looks like we're all magical."

"You got it."

_PoP!_

A green dragonfly popped in front of Haley's face, making her squeal and jump back. Everyone stared at the green dragonfly. Ozzie, Lyra, and Dreamer looked at it curiously.

_"A green one?"_ Dreamer sniffed the dfly.

It squaked at him and landed on Haley's head, smiling at her. Haley smiled back. "Hi, there."

"Hiiii."

"Oh, it sounds so cute!" Juls said, admirring the dfly.

Kara examined the creature. "How did you get here, little guy?"

"Girl!" it squeaked.

_"It's a girl, I guess,"_ Lyra said questionly.

Emily, still using her magical vision, stared at the green dragonfly. Her aura was a bight orange, like Haley's aura. Suddenly the two auras blended together, becoming perfectly insync with each other. The dragonfly and girl were a perfect match.

"Emily?" Emily looked at her friends. They were staring at her.

"What is it?" Kara asked.

Emily smiled at Haley. "Looks like this mage has a bonded animal."

"What?" Haley looked up at the dragonfly. "You mean like Dreamer and Lyra?"

The mages nodded. Haley grabbed the dragonfly from her head and stared at her. The dragonfly smiled and she smiled back, giggling.

"I'll call you Melanie."

The d-fly flapped it's wings, sorring into the air happily. "Haley an Melanie," it sang. The group laughed as the dragonfly flew around her new friend happily, finally matched with her bonded.


	11. Chapter 11

_**11**_

The next day, Jen, Shelby, Liv, Juls, and Haley all headed towards the Ravenswood Presevre together. When they got there, they made their way into the mansion library, where they heard the mages talking.

"But we were suppose to go and visit our friends today," Emily complained.

"As much as I would like to see Lorren," Kara said,"we have to stay today."

"I agree with Star One other there," Adriane said. "We have to teach these girls how to control their magic."

Emily sighed. "Alright."

"What goes on?" Haley asked as she walked into the room, Melanie following her. "Oh, nothing." Kara smiled at the mages. "We were just talking."

"Sounds like you guys have some friends on the magic web," Shelby said.

The mages looked down sadly.

"We were suppose to visit them today," Adriane said.

"But we can't 'cause we have to teach you guys how to use your powers," Kara concluded.

"Well..." Liv looked at her friends nervously.

"Don't just mope over that!" Jen shouted. "You girls go and visit your friends. We'll start our training tomorrow."

The mages looked at Jen. "Really?" they gasped.

The red head nodded. "Of course."

Emily, Adriane, and Kara shouted with joy. They were going to visit their friends after all.

"You guys can come too," the blazing star said. "I think they would like to meet you guys."

"Really?" Shelby asked. The mages nodded.

"Vacation!" Juls shouted.

"It's hardly a vacation," Haley said.

"So? It's still a vacation."

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" Kara rushed out of the front door with Lyra at her heels. Adriane and Dreamer ran, followed by Emily and Ozzie. The other girls followed the mages towards the glade. When they arrived at the glade, The girls stared at the lake.

"Okay," Emily said. "Who wants to come with me?"

"I'll go!" Juls ran towards Emily. "Okay, anyone else?"

"I'll go too." Shelby stood next to Emily.

The healer nodded.

"Liv, Haley," Jen said,"you two will go with Adriane, while I go with Kara."

The warrior smiled as Liv and Haley walked over to her and Dreamer. Kara grinned brightly as Jen stood next to her.

"Okay, you know which way to go, right?" Emily asked her fellow mages.

Adriane and Kara nodded.

"Good, now let's summon that portal."

The three mages stood in front of the lake, staring at the water. Together, they focused on the portal and opened it. The water turned pink and started swirling.

"Ready?" the warrior asked the girls.

"I guess," Juls shouted, looking at the portal.

"Hang on to us and we'll take you there," the blazing star in strucked.

"Got it," Liv said.

"Now, let's go!" The girls grabbed each of the mages hands and they all jumped into the portal.

* * *

><p>Adriane, Dreamer, and Haley walked casually along the pink and white strands of the web. Liv, on the other hand, was having a little trouble. She didn't find walking through the web as easy as her counter parts. She was trying desperately to hang on to Adriane.<p>

Finally, the girls stepped through the portal and onto Aldenmor. Liv collapsed to the ground, trying to recover from the walk.

"Yeah, I was like that the first time too," Adriane said helping her up. Liv and Haley stared at the surrounding area. Wild flowers of all colors were spread across the field. Green grass filled the area with a friendly glow as different animals roamed the fields.

"This place is amazing!" Haley ran forward, twisting and twirling, trying to enjoy herself. Melanie flew around her bonded, squeaking happily.

"Welcome to Aldenmor," Adriane said as she walked through the field.

"This place is truly amazing," Liv said.

"All thanks to us," Adriane said smiling.

_"The mages healed this place a while back,"_ Dreamer said.

"Impressive," Liv nodded.

"This place is called the Garden," the warrior explained as they walked through the field. "Research labs were set up here, and the Fairimentals live here, or so you can say. Not to mention-"

_"Mama!"_

A giant red dragon flew in from the sky, a blond boy on his back.

"Hi, Drake!" Adriane called. "Hey, Zach."

The dragon landed right in front of the girls, scaring Liv half to death. Haley ran over, staring at the dragon.

"Hey, Adriane," Zach greeted the girl as he jumped off of his bonded Dragon. He noticed Liv and Haley. "And you two are...?"

"Zach, Drake, this is Livy and Haley, our new friends," Adriane explained.

_"They are mages too,"_ Dreamer added.

"Very cool," Zach said looking at Adriane. "You girls wanna go for a ride?"

"Would I ever!" Haley ran over to Drake and petted his snout. Drake hummed softly.

"Uh..." Liv looked at the dragon. It was terrifiying, but it might be fun to go for a ride. "Sure."

"Great!"

Zach and Adriane mounted Drake, Dreamer jumping into the saddle. Liv and Haley climbed on with ease. "Ready?" Zach asked.

The girls nodded, especailly Adriane, who was hanging onto Zach's waist.

_"Hang on,"_ Drake said as he flapped his gigantic wings. He flew up, soring high above the Garden. Liv clinged to the dragon's neck for dear life as he flew higher and higher. Zach, Adriane, and Haley cried out in joy of the thrill of flight.

"This is incredible!" Haley shouted over the wind. "I wish I could do this everyday."

"I do," Zach smiled.

Liv, despite her fears, looked down at the forest. Deep green trees loomed underneath them as they flew. She stared at the forest in a daze. Suddenly there was a flash of light, startling her.

"Hold on tight!" Zach yelled over his shoulder. "Do it, Drake!"

_"We've been practicing a new trick, Mama,"_ Drake said.

"Then let's see it!"

Drake flapped his wings, then twisted up, flying upside down for a moment.

Liv wasn't paying attention. She lost her grip and flew off the dragon. Dreamer chopped onto her shirt to try to pull her back onto Drake. He wasn't strong enough to pull her on. The mistwolf fell from his saddle, falling with Liv.

Adriane looked back and saw her bonded plumetting into the earth.

"Dreamer!" Zach and Haley looked back to see the girl and mistwolf fall into the trees. He cursed under his breath. This is bad, he thought. Really bad! He couldn't turn  
>Drake around in time to catch them. But he had to try. Zach directed Drake down towards the forest. They landed near the place where they thought that Liv and Dreamer would land, but they didn't see anything. Adriane hopped off of Drake and looked through the forest, calling her bonded's name.<p>

Haley jumped off too, looking for Liv.

Melanie flew around, searching the skies.

"Girls," Zach said. "Calm down. We'll find them don't worry."

"But... But Dreamer..." Adriane stammered. Zach put his hand on her shoulder, reassuring her. "Don't worry. We'll find him."

Adriane nodded. She couldn't bare to lose another friend. Not again... Not after Stormbringer.

* * *

><p>Liv and Dreamer were falling into the forest. Dreamer was scrabbling to steady himself in the air, trying to turn to mist. Liv was screaming her head off. She was going to die, she realized. She's going to die here and now.<p>

A gust of wind flew through the forest, carrying Liv to the nearest tree. She landed on a low branch, which immediately snapped. She hit the floor hard. "Oww," she groaned as she sat up. She looked around the forest, trying to find a familiar face. Suddenly she remembered Dreamer.

"Dreamer?" she called into the forest.

The mistwolf walked out of some nearby trees, shaking leaves and twigs from his fur. _"Man, what a fall."_

Liv released a sigh of relief. "Thank God you're okay. If you were hurt, Adriane would've killed me."

_"No she won't,"_ Dreamer said then shook his head. _"Okay, maybe she will."_

Liv laughed once and looked around. She had to find some way to get back to Adriane and the others, and fast. There was a faint light coming from the distance, the same light that distracted her when Liv was riding Drake. She stood up and stepped towards the light. Then she stopped. What if it was a trap? What if it was something dangerous ahead?

Liv decided that it didn't matter. She continued forward, Dreamer right behind her. She pushed aside tree branches and bushes until she came to a small clearing. At one end of the clearing, flowers were swaying gently in the breeze. Liv walked over to the flowers and stared at them. Dreamer bent over and sniffed the flower patch. "Aren't these daisies pretty?" Liv asked the mistwolf.

Dreamer didn't answer. He was sniffing the flowers curiously._ "I smell magic."_

"You do?" Liv asked surprised.

Dreamer nodded. _"In the middle of the patch, there is some kind of magic source."_

Liv pushed the daisies apart in the middle. There on the grass was a daisy, it was entirely red, unlike the other daisies. She grabbed the daisy and held it in the palm of her hand. The wind suddenly picked up, blowing through her black hair. She felt strange, as if she was just given a new sense of the world.

_"Are you okay?"_ Dreamer asked Liv, snapping her out of her trance.

"Uh, yeah. I think I should keep it."

_"Both the crystalized flower and you have the same magical scent, so I would say so."_

Liv put the flower into her pocket and continued walking through the forest. Dreamer sniffed the ground as they continued their search for Adriane and the others.

A shadow flooded the area they were in.

_RrROOooaaAaRrrRRR!_

Liv and Dreamer looked up to see a giant red dragon flying over them. The beast looked down at them with is cloudy eyes and roared, smoke coming from it's nostrills.

_"Dragon!"_


	12. Chapter 12

_**12**_

Kara and Jen walked through the magnificent palace of the Goblin Kingdom in the Fairy Realms. Kara pointed out every decoration and every detail of the palace to Jen while leading her through.

"So, you say Lorren's a price?" Jen asked the blazing star. They stopped near a large corridor and stared at the large picture of Lucinda hanging from the wall.

"Yeah," Kara said. "He's super cute too!"

Diamond magic flared from her unicorn jewel as she smiled. Jen grinned and arched an eyebrow.

"Ooooh, so you do love this guy."

Kara blushed. "I do not! We're just really good friends that's all."

"Okay, okay, I believe you." Jen smiled as Lorren entered the room. He approached the girls with a smile on his face.

"Welcome," he said taking Kara's hand and bowing. He stood up straight and bowed at Jen. "Welcome, Zodiac Mage. The Princess has told me much about you and your friends."

Jen blushed and tried to curtsy. "Thank you." She looked at Kara. "Princess?"

Kara smiled. "Yep. I'm a princess!"

Jen rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."

"Please, ladies. Follow me." Lorren walked down a narrow corridor towards the research lab. Kara was right, Jen thought. Lorren is pretty cute. Even though he has green skin and dark green hair. He is a goblin prince after all.

Lorren opened the large double doors and motioned for the girls to go inside. The mages walked inside the research lab, seeing another goblin working at the computer. She turned and smiled at Kara, pushing her glasses up. "Oh, hello, Princess," the goblin girl said.

"Hey, Tasha," Kara replied. "How's the research on the dimensional mirrors going?"

"It's going great!" Tasha turned around in her chair and typed away at her computer. "There are some minor problems we're having with them, but they'll be fixed in no time."

"Good, because who knows what'll come out of those mirrors," Lorren added.

Tasha nodded and pointed to the screen. "Some of the dimensional mirrors are even disappearing. But I already found the source of that problem. So it'll be fixed soon."

"Perfect," the princess said.

As the goblins and princess talked, Jen looked around the room. Testing equipment was spread across almost all the tables, large containers and boxes lined the walls, and a dozen computers were running. A single mirror was leaning against the far wall. Jen approached the mirror. Tasha said that these mirrors could take you to different worlds... She wanted to see if that was true.

She reached out and ran her hand against the mirror's surface. It was completely solid. What a bunch of lies, Jen thought. She guess that they couldn't really take anyone anywhere.

The mirror became soft to the touch and gooie like water. Jen's hand sank into the mirror. She pulled her hand back abruptly, examining it. Her hand just went through that mirror!

Curious, she reached out again. Her hand went straight through the mirror. She stepped forward pushing herself through the mirror. Tasha turned to see Jen's red hair finally push through the glass, then disappear.

"Oh, geez, stop her!" the goblin girl screamed.

"Jen!" Kara ran towards the mirror. She tried to reach into the mirror, but the liquid state it was in turned solid.

"Where did she go?" Lorren asked Tasha.

The goblin girl turned to her computer and began typing away. Her finger flew across the keyboard as she tried to figure out where Jen had ended up. He eyes  
>widened as a word showed up on the screen.<p>

"She... She went to Dalriada Unicorn Acedemy!"

* * *

><p>Jen pushed herself through the mirror. The liquid was extremely hard to move through, but somehow she got through. She stepped onto wood floors and nearly tripped over her own shoes. She stummbled into a large, empty room. The ceiling was decorated with many different colored streamers, at one end of the room was a large pink banner that read "Welcome Graduates!" Balloons floated around as multicolored lights gave the large room a soft, rainbow glow.<p>

"Where am I?" Jen asked herself. Her voice echoed through the empty room. She needed to get back to the research lab. She turned and gasped. The mirror she came through was gone! How was she suppose to get back to her friends?

She turned again and looked at the room. Was she in a high school or something? Suddenly the door on the other side of the room opened. Jen paniced. She had to hide, and fast. On the left side of the room was a open door. Might as well go. She ran to through that door and hid behind it. She peeked through the crack in the door and watched the room carefully. The sound of foot steps echoed through the room, and they were getting closer. She was expecting to see a human walking through the room.

What she saw was a brilliant horse. The horse was sky blue, it's hooves a bright silver. It's long maine and tail were a mix of light blue and pink. What really caught Jen's eyes was the magnificent horn on the animal's head. A rainbow of colors swirl around and on the surface of the horn, making it seem to glow. It wasn't a normal horse Jen was seeing.

It was a unicorn.

She pushed the door open and stepped towards the unicorn. The creature turned towards her and stared at the red head. Jen hesitated. She wasn't sure if this unicorn would run away or attack. Could she take a chance? Will she take a chance?

She took another step.

_"Don't be afraid, Zodiac Mage. I am a friend."_

Jen flinched. "Who... Who's there?"

_"It is I, young mage."_

She looked at the unicorn, her eyes wide. "You... talked to me."

_"Of course."_ The unicorn raised it's head and bowed at the mage. Jen walked over to the unicorn causiously. She stared up at the creature, watching the colors swirl around it's horn.

Jen reached up and touched the unicorn's head. Her horn flashed rainbow colors as Jen cupped the unicorn's snout, looking at the creature's eyes. One eye was an ocean blue while the other eye was a glassy purple, making her eyes stand out more than her horn at the moment.

_"My name is Darlada,"_ the unicorn said. _"I am to be with you."_

"I am Jennifer Balisk," Jen said. "I can feel it. I am suppose to be with you." She could feel it. She felt as if her magic was stronger thanks to Darlada. It felt as if their magic was now locked together, forever bonded.

Jen flinched. "I need to get back to my friends," she said to Darlada.

_"I will take you to them."_ The unicorn shook its head. _"Jump onto my back."_

"Okay." Jen jumped onto her back and held on to Darlada's maine. The unicorn reared up on it's hind legs and dashed towards the doors on the other side of the room. She burst through the doors and headed towards the front of a huge building. As they past, Jen saw a huge sign that said "Dalriada Unicorn Acedemy". A unicorn acedemy? There's such a thing?

Darlada picked up speed as they left the acedemy grounds and headed towards the forest. The unicorn ran until they came to a clearing. She waved her horn, sending tendrills of magic through the air. The space in front of them rippled and twisted, forming a portal. Darlada nodded her head and ran through the portal, racing across the magic web.

* * *

><p>"She's heading this way!" Tasha said as she ran out to the front of the palace, Prince Lorren and Princess Kara at her heels.<p>

"You're locked on her magic?" Lorren asked.

"Yes, and it was totally easy to find. Her magic is pure white!"

"Good to know," Kara said as the group stopped. Tasha looked at the screen of her magic tracker. She gasped as her machine beeped.

"It seems that her magic is stronger than it was before. And it seems that there are two magical sources. Not just one."

"Two?" the prince and princess asked.

The goblin girl nodded. "I wonder who she's with."

Suddenly, a portal opened up in front of them. Darlada galloped out of it, Jen sitting on her back. "Hey, guys," she called as Darlada turned and headed towards them. The unicorn stopped next to Tasha, staring at the goblin girl.

_"Are these your friends?"_ Darlada asked as her bonded jumped off her back.

"Yeah! This is Kara, Lorren, and Tasha."

Kara smiled at Jen's bonded. "This unicorn is so pretty!"

_"I am Darlada,"_ the unicorn said.

"Wicked cool."

"This is cool." Tasha looked at her magic tracker. "Jen and Darlada's magic are almost identical. They're a perfect match!"

"You mean, that's her bonded," Lorren said.

Tasha nodded. "It is amazing."

"Well," Kara said,"we should probably get ready now."

"Ready for what?"

"A party of course!"


	13. Chapter 13

_**13**_

Emily, Shelby, and Juls walked through the beaches of Aquatania together, looking at the ocean. Marlin, Emily's merfriend, was walking with them, admiring the sea.

"So, you're a prince?" Juls asked the merboy.

Marlin nodded. "Indeed I am!"

"Impressive."

"Very," Shelby agreed.

Next to the group, the ocean's surface broke, revealing a large, sea creature.

"This is Niva, my sea dragon," Marlin pointed out to Shelby and Juls.

The girls stared at the dragon, its scales shimmering in the sun light.

"She's beautiful," Shelby said.

"Yeah, she is," Emily added.

Marlin took Emily off to the side.

"Are you sure you want someone like her" -Marlin nodded towards Shelby- "walking around here?"

"She's perfectly in control. And besides," Emily looked Marlin in the eyes, "who says all dark magic is bad?"

Marlin stared at her for a moment, then he smiled. "You're right. You're always right."

Emily smiled back and walked towards her friends, Marlin following close behind. As they walked back, Juls stared at the jewels they had. Shelby had her aquamarine rose and Emily had her rainbow jewel. Not to mention that her sister has a jewel too. She was so jealous. She wanted a jewel of her own. A jewel that she could call her own. But so far, she didn't have one. She looked down at her feet as the group kept walking along the shore.

"How're the other sea dragons doing?" Emily asked Marlin.

"They're doing really well, although, we seem to be having a problem with one of the sea dragons."

"What kind of problem?" Shelby asked. "Well, she doesn't seem to be bonding with anybody. No matter how many merpeople we put her with, she doesn't have a match."

Emily looked at the sand. The sea dragon doesn't have a bonded? How could that be? She bonded every sea dragon with almost everyone at the Wave fest a few months ago.

"Let me see the dragon."

Marlin nodded and waded into the water. He closed his eyes and concentrated. That's when a baby blue sea dragon emerged from the water. It swam up to Marlin, following him to the edge of the shore.

"This is her," Marlin said. "This is Nagamine."

"Hello, there," Emily said waving to the sea dragon.

The dragon smiled at the healer. Juls stared at the dragon. It seemed as though she was in a trance with the beautiful creature. Nagamine's pink eyes locked with Juls's blue ones. Emily looked at the two with her magical vision. Their auras were almost that exact same shade of blue. The magical auras reached for each other, growing desperate to join together.

"Juls," Emily said. Juls looked at Emily.

"Why don't you go with Nagamine?"

"I can?"

The healer nodded. Juls smiled and waded into the water. She reached the for sea dragon and touched her snout. Nagamine licked Juls's cheek, making her giggle.

"That's her match," Emily said to Marlin. "Wow," he breathed. "They look happy together."

Emily nodded.

Shelby watched as Juls and her new bonded got to know each other. She couldn't help but wonder if she had a perfect match out there.

Juls looked at her friends. "So, Nagamine is my bonded animal?"

The group nodded. Juls shouted with joy, as did the sea dragon.

"Now all I need to do is find myself a jewel," Juls muttered.

_"I will help you find it,"_ Nagamine said.

"You will?"

The sea dragon nodded.

Juls smiled and patted her new friend's head. Shelby looked up at the clear blue sky. She wondered what the others were doing right now.

* * *

><p>The dragon landed right in front of Liv and Dreamer, spitting fire from it's mouth. Dreamer barked at the creature, baring his large teeth. Liv stood behind the mistwolf, hoping that he would protect her. The dragon stared at the two, his sliver eyes locked on Liv.<p>

"What do you want?" Liv nearly shouted at the dragon.

_"You,"_ a voice said to her.

Dreamer growled at the dragon._ "What do you want wit Liv?"_

The dragon snarled at Dreamer, warning him to back off. Liv stared into the dragons piercing eyes. She sensed something. Like as if a spark was going off in her head.  
>She knew that the dragon didn't want to hurt them.<p>

"Hold on, Dreamer," she said to the mistwolf. "I think he's friendly."

Dreamer relaxed a little. _"If you think so. But I'm staying on guard."_

Liv nodded and walked towards the great creature. The dragon nodded towards Liv.

_"You have called me, yes?"_ he asked.

"I never called you," Liv answered.

_"Someone was calling me. It sounded like your voice."_

"Who are you?"

The dragon lowered his head to be level with Liv's. _"I am Sideltolfor. I am suppose to help you."_

"How 'bout I just call you Sid?"

The dragon nodded._ "I like that name better."_

Dreamer nudged Liv's leg with his nose. _"Don't mind me, but I was just thinking that we should find Adriane and the others."_

"Oh, right." Liv looked at Sid. "Will you help us?"

The dragon nodded it's massive head. _"I will help however I can."_

"Great."

Liv and Dreamer jumped onto Sid's back. The dragon flapped it's wings and took off, flying high into the air. Liv hugged the dragon's neck, still not quite use to flying.

"Take an easy, okay?" she yelled over the howling wind.

_"You got it,"_ Sid said, gently gliding against the wind.

* * *

><p>Drake flew the air, Adriane, Zach, and Haley on his back. The group searched the ground below, looking for any sign of where their friends might be.<p>

"I don't see anything," Zach shouted. "Do you think they might be somewhere else?"

"No, they're here. I can feel it!"

_"Uh, Zach, Mama?" _

"What is it?" Adriane asked her baby.

_"Look."_ Drake pointed his nose straight ahead.

In the distance, they could see something flying towards them at high speed.

"What is that?" Haley asked.

"I don't know," Melanie answered. The creature was flying so fast that they barely saw it past them. Adriane watched as the dragon flew past. As if in slow motion, she saw her bonded and Liv sitting on it's back.

_"Adriane!"_

The dragon flew past at wharp speed, then came to an abrupt stop way behind Drake. Sid turned around and flew towards the other dragon, catching up to Adriane and the others.

"Dreamer! You're okay!" Adriane shouted. Dreamer barked happily.

_"I'm glad that I am too!"_

"Liv," Haley shouted, "where did that dragon come from?"

"Let's discuss this down there!" Zach pointed towards the Garden. The two dragons landed on the lush plains of the Garden and let their passengers jump off. Adriane ran to Dreamer and gave him a huge hug.

"What's with the other dragon?" Zach asked, looking up at the red and silver dragon.

_"I am Sid,"_ the dragon roared.

"He's... my friend," Liv said walking up to her dragon.

"I see," Adriane said looking at the creature. "You found yourself a bonded?"

"Um... I don't really know."

"Interesting."

"Well, we can't very well take him home now can we?" Haley asked.

Adriane shook her head. "I don't think so. A huge dragon like that will probably be too big for Ravenswood."

Sid huffed. _"Really?"_

Adriane nodded. Liv looked up at Sid. "Don't worry. I'll come and visit you, I promise."

Sid flicked his forked tongue. _"You will?"_

Liv nodded. She was terrified of dragons, but she felt different about Sid. She felt that she could trust him completely. Like a ture friend.

_"We could keep in touch with that."_ Sid nudged Liv's side with his nose. He was touching the pocket she had put the crystalized jewel in.

"How?" she asked.

_"That is your jewel. And with my magic, we will be connected together. Bonded."_

Liv stared at the pocket she had the daisy in. She couldn't believe that this all happened so fast. She reached up and hugged Sid's massive head. He lifted her off the ground and smiled, making Liv giggle.

"Okay, okay, we need to get going now," Adriane said to Liv.

"Alright," Haley said, Melanie pulling her hair.

"Going where?" Liv asked.

"A party."

* * *

><p>Juls rode her bonded dragon Nagamine through the oceans of Aldenmor. Marlin and Niva were following while Emily and Adriane were seated behind him. "Where exactly are we riding to?" Emily asked.<p>

"It's way to wet here!" Ozzie shouted over the roaring waves.

"Calm down, ferret," Shelby said. "It's just water."

"Well, you're not a ferret!"

"We're going into the Fairy Realms," Marlin answered. "I know a short cut."

"What for?" Shelby asked.

"The goblin queen is having a party."

"What kinda party?" Juls asked.

"A birthday party."

"Oh, yeah!" Emily shouted. "It's Lorren's birthday!"

"No way," Shelby breathed. A party? She likes parties and all, but she really, really hoped that she didn't have to wear a dress. She hated dresses. Her body was not fit for a dress. Not at all.

The sea dragons swam through the ocean for what seemed like hourse until they arrived at a docking area filled with boats. The group hopped off the dragons and walked onto a nearby dock.

"Bye, Nagamine," Juls said to her bonded. "I'll see you again soon."

Nagamine smiled and swam off, along with Niva.

Emily and Marlin lead Shelby and Juls through the docking area and up a trail. They walked through the forest together until they saw a palace looming in the distance.  
>"Welcome to the Goblin Kingdom's palace," Emily said as the group stood in front of the huge building.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

_**14**_

Kara lead Jen to her old room while Lorren was getting ready for his big day. As Jen walked inside Kara's room, the brushes, combs, and few tiny mirrors starting running around her desk.

"She's back!" one of the accessories yelled.

"Welcome home, Princess!" another shouted.

"What are those things?" Jen whispered into Kara's ear.

"Those are enchanted accessories. When I came here a while back, they helped me out, sorta," the blazing star explained.

"Convenient."

"Are we to prepare you for Prince Lorren's ball?" one of the combs asked Kara.

The blazing star smiled. "Yep. And I need you to fix up my friend here for me. Everyone, this is Jen. She's a fellow mage and my friend."

Jen smiled nervously as the enchanted accessories greeted her. She looked at Kara.

"How come I'm getting all dressed up? I mean, don't the others need something?"

Kara grinned. "Well, of course. But, like, since you chose to go with me" -Kara twirled, showing off her pretty pink outfit- "you get special treatment."

"That's good, right?"

"Is it ever!"

Kara walked towards the bathroom, saying,"I'm going to take a quick bath. You stay here and let the accessories take care of your hair. I'll be out shortly." With that, she shut the bathroom door.

Jen looked down at the accessories, a questioning look on her face. What were they going to do exactly?

A large comb walked over to the edge of the desk. "I am Angelo, and believe me darling, you need to seriously comb that hair."

"Hey! My hair is perfectly fine-" Jen gasped when she looked into the mirror.

Her half ponytail completely came unraveled, leaving her hair in a shaggy mess.

"Okay, fix it."

The accessories screamed with joy and started working on the Zodiac Mage's hair.

"I know we are suppose to surve the Fairy Princess," the tiny mirror said,"but if she tells us to do something, then we do it!"

"That's the spirit, Mirabelle!" the brush shouted as she ran herself through Jen's tangled hair.

"WoOF!" A small, pink puffball hopped over to Jen and bounced up and down.

"No! Not now, Puffdoggie!" Mirabelle yelled.

Puffdoggie stopped jumping and just stared at Jen happily.

"Make sure you get the back, Skirmish," a bottle of perfume advised.

The brush glared at the perfume bottle. "Don't tell me how to do my job, Whiffle."

"Just giving you some support."

Skirmish and Angelo pulled and tugged at Jen's hair for what seemed like forever. After a while, her auburn curls were hanging from the top of her head, the other half of her hair hanging down in her usual fashion, but with more flare. Jen stared at her hair in the mirror. "You guys did such an excellent job!"

"Why, thank you," Skirmish exclaimed.

"All in a days work, Miss Mage," Angelo commented.

"Now time for your make up," Mirabelle sang, hopping over to Jen's face.

Puffdoggie barked at her. The mirror sighed. "Okay, now it's your turn, Puffdoggie."

The little pink puffball jumped up and patted Jen's cheek, making her cough slightly. The hyper puffball jumped back down to the desk and barked happily, obviously satistfied with his work.

After a few moments, Mirabelle was almost done with applying Jen's make up. Whiffle hopped up and sprayed a lovely fragrance into the girl's hair. Jen sniffed the perfume. "This smells great!"

"Doesn't it?" The perfume bottle chuckled and grinned.

"Done! Finally," Mirabelle sighed. The red head looked at herself in the mirror once again. Her make up was absolutely flawless. The clashes of colors matched her hair and skin tone perfectly.

"You guys are good."

The accessories smiled.

"You're done?" Kara walked out of the bathroom with a fluffy pink robe around her. Jen nodded and posed for Kara.

"How do I look?"

"Like me, a Princess!" The girls and accessories laughed. Kara walked over to another door and opened it. "Now, it's time to pick a dress."

This oughta be fun, the Zodiac Mage thought.

* * *

><p>The grand ballroom was filled with people of all types. Fairy and goblin creatures of all kinds were spinning a twirling, dancing to the catchy music that filled the gigantic room. The three mages, Emily, Kara, and Adriane, entered the ballroom, all dressed in beautiful gowns and escorted by their friends.<p>

Emily walked in first. She was wearing a long pale green dress that had a ribbon attatched to the back. Her red hair was put up in a high pony tail, topped off with a long, green ribbon. Marlin walked in her in, holding on to her arm. He was wearing a black tux, along with the same color tie as Emily's dress. Adriane walked in second. She wasn't really dressed up, but still looked fancy. She was wearing a dark blue blouse with dark blue dress pants. He hair was down as usual and on her arm was Zach, sporting a black tux.

Last, was Kara, along with the most important guest of the party, Lorren. Kara wore a very pretty pink dress that was decorated with red all around it. Her hair was up in curls and her hands were covered with white gloves. Her unicorn jewel flashed around her neck. Lorren walked with her, wearing his formal prince wear.  
>The girls walked to the middle of the dance floor with their dates and started dancing. Everyone started dancing with them as Be*Tween sang up a storm, their dresses flowing wildly.<p>

On one side of the room, Shelby, Juls, Liv, and Haley were standing against the wall together, watching the crowd dance.

"This is boring!" Haley shouted. "I wanna go dance!"

"Then go," Shelby said annoyed. "We're not dressed all fancy like the others, but still. By the way, I'm not dancing."

"Why not?" Liv asked.

"Um, hello? Does 'trip over flat surfaces' mean anything to you? Imagine me dancing!"

Liv nodded and shrank down. "Sorry I asked."

"Still, we should go and, like, dance," Juls said. "But only if Hales comes with me."

"Got it."

The cousins ran out to the dance floor and started shaking their bodies while Shelby and Liv watched. Liv looked around the room.

"Where's Jen? I haven't seen her around."

"Maybe she's taking care of something," Shelby answered. The dark Zodiac Mage eyed her aquamarine stone, thinking about the other dark mage, Malikai. Where is he now? she wondered.

"Hey, look." Liv pointed to the doors.

"What is it?" Shelby asked, pulling herself from her thoughts.

"Just look!"

Shelby's eyes were fixed on a tall, red headed girl who just walked into the room. She looked around nervously.

"What about her?" Shelby asked.

"Don't you recognize her?" Liv shouted.

"No... Why-"

Suddenly Shelby's eyes widened. "No way... That can't be Jen!" But Shelby couldn't deny it. It was, indeed, her friend after all. Jen looked totally transformed. Half of her hair was up in a pony tail while the rest was flowing down her back, her usual look. She was wearing a long, bright blue gown, sparkles where spread across it. Her bright blue gloves slightly shined as her jewel glowed a soft white. The light Zodiac Mage looked around the room, finally resting her gaze on her best friend.

She walked calmly towards Shelby and Liv. "Hi, girls."

"Oh, my God!" they both screamed.

Jen's blue eyes widened in surprise, her face slightly blushing. "What?"

"You look totally beautiful!" Liv shouted.

"Dido," Shelby added.

Jen's blush deepened. "Awww, thank you guys."

As the girls talked, someone tapped Jen's shoulder. The mage turned to see a tall boy wearing a mask behind her, his black bangs covering his forehead. She took a step back and examined the boy. He was wearing an all black suit with a black leather belt. His black mask looked leather too.

The boy held out his hand to Jen, slightly bowing. "May I have this dance?"

The mage looked at her friends nervously. Shelby and Liv shrugged. Jen looked back at the boy and took his hand. "I would love to."

The boy smiled, his grin like a model's. He led Jen onto the dance floor, holding her hand tightly. He put one hand on her waist and they started swaying across the marble floor.

"I should probably tell you that I can't dance," she said to this mysterious stranger.

The masked boy smiled. "It's okay. Just follow my lead."

The two twirled and danced together, making it seem easier to dance for Jen. The boy danced like he was an expert. So filled with live and energy that seemed oddly familiar. The boy twirled Jen in a circle, making her dress flow and her heart thump against her chest. The song ended. The boy bowed to Jen, still holding her hand. "It was a pleasure dancing with you."

"The pleasure was all mine, kind sir."

The mysterious boy turned and began to walk away, his hand slipping from Jen's. Suddenly, Jen felt the need to follow this stranger. She didn't know why, but she felt empty inside when he walked away, as if he was disappearing forever.

She walked after him. The boy was already in the hallway of the palace by the time Jen caught up with him. She grabbed his shirt's sleve and pulled.

"Wait."

The boy looked back, his eyes filled with electricity.

Literally. Jen could've sworn she saw electricity in those eyes.

"Yes?" he asked politely. Jen froze. Why had she stopped him exactly?

"Uhm... You never told me your name, stranger," she said, a smile touching her lips.

The boy smiled and turned, facing her completely. He looked into her eyes, making her cheeks flush.

"I can't do that," he said calmly, a smile still on his face.

Jen frowned. "Why not?"

The stranger smiled at her. "Just can't."

He turned and started to walk away. Jen pursed her lips and dashed forward, hand outstretched.

"Yes, you can!" She grabbed the back straps of his mask and pulled. The mask came off easily, falling to the ground in front of the boy. He reached down to grab the mask, but was blocked by Jen's gloved hand. She stood in front of the boy, who was covering his face with his hands.

"Can you remove your hands from your face?" Jen asked the boy.

He shook his head, peeking through his fingers. Jen grabbed his hands and pulled, removing them from his face.

She gasped. "It's you!"

She knew that those brown eyes were familiar. They were the same color. His mannerisms were the same too. Roland smiled as Jen stared at him in shock.

"Surprised?"


	15. Chapter 15

_**15**_

Jen stared at Roland for a moment. She couldn't believe that he was here. In front of her. And in the Fairy Realms! She had so many questions in her head at that moment.

"I'm sure you have my questions for me," Roland said, as if reading her mind,"but I can't answer them now."

"But, why?"

He looked at her eyes, a serious look in his. "We need somewhere less...public."

"This really isn't public, Roland."

"Beside the point. We just need to talk somewhere else. Just, not here. I do not feel comfortable here."

Jen nodded as if she understood, which she didn't. She glanced down and noticed that Roland was wearing a bracelet, a poppy attached to it. Her eyes widened in sudden realization.

Was Roland a Zodiac Mage?

She looked up at his chocolate brown eyes and smiled. Something she wasn't really planning to do. He reached down and took his mask off the ground, tying it back on to his face.

"I'll see you at school, at the football field, one o'clock. Be there." He turned and walked down the hallway. He stopped and looked over his shoulder before he turned the corner. "And, by the way, you look really beautiful tonight, Jennifer."

Then he disappeared.

* * *

><p>In the courtyard of the palace, Melanie, Haley's green dragonfly, was flying around the gradens, looking at all the pretty flowers and plants. She was flying around with her new friends Barney, Fred, Fiona, Blaze, and Goldie. They were playing around when Melanie spotted something shiny in the trees. She flew up and looked at the shiny object curiously.<p>

The emerald green flower shone with the light of the full moon, casting an even more greenish glow on Melanie. The mini stared at the object, her stomach rumbling.

Usually, the mini didn't eat flowers, but she was just so hungry.

She flew forward and grabbed the flower, throwing it into her mouth. She swallowed the crystallized flower whole and continued flying with her new friends.

* * *

><p>Back inside the ballroom, Shelby and Liv were watching as Haley and Juls walked up to them.<p>

"Man, did you see that hottie that was with my sis?" Juls said, out of breath from dancing.

"Yeah, he was totally cute!" Haley added. "Even though we didn't see his face."

"It was kinda weird," Shelby said. "He seemed oddly familiar too."

Jen walked up to the group then, her face glowing. Her friends and relatives surrounded her.

"So, who was that guy?" Juls asked the first question.

"I..." Jen wasn't sure if she should reveal Roland's true identity to her friends yet. She decided that she should, just in case. "He didn't tell me his name."

The girls gasped and Jen nodded. "He didn't tell me a thing," the red head added.

"He just came out of nowhere and danced with you?" Liv asked.

Jen nodded once again.

"How romantic!" Haley exclaimed.

"How stupid," Shelby said. "This guy is probably a jerk. Forget about him."

But there's more to the story than that, Jen thought, brushing her bangs from her eyes. Her friends didn't know the whole story. Only she knew.

"You're probably right. Come on, let's go enjoy ourselves." Jen grabbed Liv and Juls and pulled them onto the dance floor, moving their hips to the music. Shelby sighed, her arms crossed over her chest, and looked out the large window. The moon shined brightly into the courtyard, where the dragonflies were playing. She couldn't help but wonder what Malikai was doing. Oddly, she couldn't get the mysterious dark Zodiac Mage out of her mind. Not a single thought of her crush Alex at all. It was strange, yet it felt right to think about that mysterious boy. Shelby sighed and looked at her friends having fun. A thought accured to her.

Was Malikai thinking about her too?

The mage sneezed, nearly knocking her glasses off her face. Yup, he was probably thinking about her.

* * *

><p>Malikai waved a hand in front of the mist that hung over his bed. The mist swirled until an image of Prince Lorren's birthday bash took shape in the middle. Hundreds of people were twisting and twirling to the musical fairy group Be*Tween while some were off to the sides, looking really bored or talking to other people. He spotted Shelby, his fellow dark mage, leaning against the wall, looking out the large window next to her.<p>

Malikai sighed. If only he knew what she was thinking. She looked so bored, a hint of sadness in her expression. If ony Malikai knew what was wrong. If only he could comfort her...

He shook his head, curly black hair ruffling. What was he thinking? He never had a soft spot for anything. Except Virgasphire, but that was his bonded horse. That's different. This was having feelings for a girl. And not just any girl, but another dark Zodiac. A very powerful one by the looks of it.

The dark Zodiac mage curled his fingers and punched the mist, making the image of Shelby disappear.

"I do not have a soft spot for her," he repeated over and over to himself. His fist trembled as he squeezed tighter, his knuckles becoming white. Even though he kept repeating it, it was still false. He had feelings for her that he couldn't deny. But he would try. He would try desperately to not have those feelings. Dark Zodiac Mages are suppose to be just what they are: dark. They're loners. They have nobody. And that's how it is going to stay, Malikai decided.


	16. Chapter 16

_**16**_

Wednesday afternoon, Jen sneaked out of class and headed towards Stonehill High football field. She was determinded to meet with Roland to finally get some answers as to why he was in the Fairy Realms, or even more... Why he was even there.

Jen opened the gate to the football field and walked along the track, keeping a look out for Roland. She spotted him on the other side of the field. He was sitting on the gate with a book in his hand, reading thoughtfully. Jen approached him, making sure not to make herself look like an idiot.

Without looking up, Roland said,"I thought you wouldn't show."

"I need answers, why wouldn't I show up?"

Roland closed his book and jumped down from the fence, a smile on his face. He looked Jen straight in the eye and grinned.

Jen swallowed and smiled back.

"So, will you give me answers?"

Roland looked at the field. "Let's walk and talk."

Jen nodded and followed the black haired boy along the track. It was quiet for a moment as they walked, but then the silence disappeared when Roland said,"I didn't expect to see you there."

The red head looked at him. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Point taken."

"Anyway, why were you there? How do you know about the world of magic? And how are you here?"

"Well," Roland looked at the sky, stuffing his hands into his pockets,"it's a long story. But I'll shorten it out for you. You see, my father is a mage and my mother is human. My father came to Stonehill and fell in love with my mother. But he had to travel back and forth from Aldenmor to Stonehill. Buisness, y'know? Anyway, when I was about five years old, we found out that I had magical abilities. And since my dad had the same ability as me, he taught me how to use my powers, and introduced me to the magical web. I've been traveling between worlds for years."

Jen cleared her throat. "That wasn't really a short story."

"I did what I can."

She laughed.

"So, why were you there?" Roland asked her.

Jen looked at him. "I just found out recently that I had magical abilities too." She raised her wrist and showed Roland the opal flower on her bracelet. "I'm a light  
>Zodiac Mage."<p>

"And the three famous mages who saved the web just happened to find you?"

Jen nodded, slightly blushing.

"Incredible."

"I know. So, are you a warlock?"

"Not really."

Roland held up his wrist, showing Jen the peridot flower attached to his woven bracelet. "I'm the lightning Zodiac."

Jen stared at the bracelet for a moment then smiled. "Interesting."

"Any other questions?"

"Well, why were you desguised?"

"Lorren had informed me that the mages had found new mages. He mention some familiar names, so I decided to disquise myself, just in case."

"Not really a good plan."

"I see that now!"

"How much do you know about the Zodiac Mages?"

Roland glanced at the bleachers they where walking by. "I know a lot. And believe me when I say a lot. I've studied them ever since I was little. Like your gem, for example, is the most beautiful gem of all the Zodiac stones."

Jen looked at the closed flower on her wrist. "Not to disprove that but it doesn't look very beautiful. It would've been prettier if it was open, but I can't make that happen."

"Someday, you'll see. I also know that the Zodiac Mages have unlimited magic."

Jen raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how regular animals and other mages and warlocks have a certain amount of magic?"

"Yes?"

"The Zodiac Mages are unlimited. Say if a shadow creature was taking your magic, if you let it keep draining, it'll die of overdose!"

Roland laughed while Jen smiled.

"And also," he added,"the Virgo is the most powerful of us all."

"How is that?"

Roland jumped onto the bleachers and started walking along it. "Virgos have the power of creation. They can make anything, just by thinking of it. Even humans. It's very useful."

"I see."

Roland stopped walking and looked at the sky, making Jen stop as well. It was really quiet for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Jen asked finally.

"I was just thinking, sorry."

"It's okay."

He started walking again, Jen right behind him. As they walked, Roland explained a few other things about the Zodiac Mages.

"You can have more than one bonded animal. Some Zodiac's have three!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! And sometimes, every once in a blue moon, the aquarius would have healing powers."

"That's amazing."

Roland nodded and continued walking. "Anymore questions?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Then we're done here."

He jumped off the bleachers and started walking towards the school. Jen followed after him.

"So, I guess we're friends?" Jen asked shyly.

"Of course we're friends!" He looked at her, his eyes shining. "What made you think otherwise?"

* * *

><p>"It was Roland? Really?"<p>

The next day at lunch, Jen explained her story about Roland being a mage. Everyone's shocked expressions made Jen a little uneasy.

"That's pretty cool," Liv said. "I mean like, I didn't know boys could be mages."

"It's possible," Adriane said.

"So, what kind is he?" Haley asked.

"Lightning," Jen replied. "And a good one at that. He looked totally in control."

Shelby's hand twitched, her dark magic making her feel a little anxious. She wasn't totally in control yet, which was a bad sign. Malikai said that the dark Zodiac Mage was one of the most power of all the Zodiacs, and that it would take time to control it completely. Which totally blows. Shelby needed to know how to control her magic and fast.

"Did he tell you anything else?" Haley pressed on.

"Yeah. He told me a lot of stuff about the Zodiac's."

Good thing the other Hailey and Mike were not here, Jen thought. She needed to tell her friends about Roland.

"He told me that, we have unlimited magic, unlike regular magical beings. And that we can have more than one bonded animal. He even told me of the most powerful Zodiac in the line up."

"That's incredible!" Liv nearly shouted.

"I know right?" Jen smiled. She looked around the cafeteria, looking for Roland. She spotted him sitting with his friends.

"So, I think we should start today, after school," Emily said.

Jen turned. "Huh?"

"I said that we should start our training after school," Emily repeated.

"Oh. Okay. I'm up for it."

Everyone talked as Jen stared at her new fellow mage.

* * *

><p>"Dude, that girl's staring at you," Tyler Pallen pointed out as he was eating his pizza.<p>

Roland turned to see the light Zodiac Mage, Jen, staring at him. Casually, he waved to her, showing off his killer smile. Jen waved back and continued talking to her friends.

"I think she likes you," Tyler said.

Roland shook his head. "Nah, man. We're just friends."

"Uh huh, keep telling yourself that."

Roland laughed as Tyler mocked him. Tyler Pallen wasn't really the friend type, but to Roland, he was his best friend. And a good friend at that. He was silent and doesn't really talk to anyone, but he has his reasons.

There was those voices again, Tyler thought as he stared around the large cafeteria. Different voices were talking inside his head, making different comments and questions.

_**Is it suppose to be cold today after school?**_  
><em><strong><br>I hope I didn't fail that test.**_  
><em><strong><br>Why is that guy staring at me? I don't even like him!**_  
><em><strong><br>I can't believe Roland's a mage.**_

Tyler stopped and tried to listen to the voice closer while looking around the room. His gazed stopped on Jennifer Balisk. She was staring at Roland, her cheeks slightly flushing. Suddenly the voice came back.

_**I would've never expected this. It was totally out of puportion. I mean, I never really expected seeing him at Lorren's birthday party. But then again, with magic you never know.**_

Okay, Tyler thought, he must be crazy. There's no way that could be Jennifer's thoughts. The voices were in his head and were probably talking to him. But the voices sounded like her's. But still, Tyler didn't let that bother him. Although, he thought that he should tell Roland, but at what cost? Will his best friend think he's crazy?

"Those voices are back," Tyler whispered to his best friend.

Roland tensed. "Are you sure?"

Tyler nodded, looking around the room. "Look, this has been going on since the summer. I can't take it anymore. These voices are driving me crazy! I want an answer as to why they're in my head!"

"Shh!" Roland shoved his slice of pizza into his friends mouth, stopping him from saying anymore. "Do you want people to hear our conversations?" he whispered.

Tyler shook his head, pulling the pizza from his mouth. "Look, I just want answers, that's all."

Roland stared at his gem. The jewel pulsed a soft yellowish color. He couldn't provide answers for his friend. He couldn't tell him what was wrong with him.

"Sorry, dude. But I don't know either. Honestly. Maybe you're pyshic."

Tyler laughed. "Yeah, psyhic."


	17. Chapter 17

_**17**_

Saturday morning, Jen, Juls, Shelby, Liv, and Haley were walking to the Ravenswood Preserve together. As they walked inside the mansion library, they saw Lyra and Dreamer spread across the floor, sleeping. The girls sat down in seperate chairs and waited for the mages to show up. As if on cue, Melanie popped into the room, glowing bright green. She flew to her bonded mage and sat on her head.

"Hi, Melanie," Haley said.

"Hiiiii," the mini laughed.

Just then, Lyra and Dreamer's heads rose from the floor. _"Something's outside that door,"_ Lyra said.

The double doors to the library opened, revealing a tall unicorn. She walked inside, making everyone stare in shock, except Jen. She knew who this unicorn was.

"Darlada!" The mage ran to her bonded and wrapped her arms around the creatures neck, giving her a hug.

_"I have missed you, Zodiac Mage,"_ the unicorn said. Everyone stared at the unicorn, mouths open wide.

"Where the heck did you get a unicorn?" Juls shouted.

Jen shrugged. "I found her at the unicorn acedemy."

"There's a unicorn acedemy?" Liv asked.

"I guess so, I saw it." Jen ran her hand through Darlada's beautiful maine.

"Now I've seen everything," Shelby mumbled, rubbing her forehead.

Juls and Liv looked at each other and sighed. "I miss Sid," Liv grumbled.

"I wanna see Nagamine," Juls whined.

_"Will you guys relax a little?"_ Dreamer said. _"You'll see your bondeds again."_

Shelby watched as Jen and Haley petted their bondeds while Juls and Liv mourned to see theirs. She couldn't help but to feel empty inside. Where was her bonded animal? Of course, she hadn't found it yet. Which was even more upsetting. Everyone's magic seemed so much stronger with their animals. Not that Shelby wanted power. What she really wanted was a real friend like them. But, of course, she didn't have a friend like that.

She stood up and walked towards the double doors.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jen asked her friend.

"Just for a walk," Shelby replied. "I'll be back soon."

She walked out of the mansion and headed towards the glade. She had to see Malikai. She had to talk to him, and fast. As she walked to the glade, a pair of emerald green eyes stared at her from the trees. The eyes blinked at the mage, then disappeared.

* * *

><p>Shelby walked through the portal and into the Otherworlds. She walked along the path Malikai had shown her and easily came to his house. If she could call it a house. It was so small.<p>

She walked up to the front door and held her hand up to knock. Before she could do so, the door opened, revealing the dark mage called Malikai.

"How did you know it was me?" Shelby asked the boy.

He smiled. "I can see where ever you are at anytime." He pointed at the swirling mist hanging above his work table. It showed an image of Shelby walking here. Her hand twitched.

"Thanks for spying on me." She pushed past him and entered his home. Everything looked exactly the same as before. Black everything. Malikai shut the door behind him and stared at the table.

He wasn't wearing his usual deep purple cloak. He was wearing a deep purple sleeveless shirt with black pants. His aquamarine rose around his neck. "What do you want?" he asked Shelby crudely.

The mage looked at him, annoyed. "I thought that you were going to teach me about my dark magic, Malikai."

The boy flinched, not expecting that from her. "Well, of course. Let's get started."

"Finally."

"But, I do not know why you chose to come here. Don't you know that it's very dangerous to travel around here?"

"I'm fine now, aren't I?"

Malikai set his jaw. "Of course. Let us go outside."

The dark Zodiac Mage led Shelby outside. The sky was dark, as usual, and the forest seemed eerie, as usual.

Shelby felt perfectly at home.

Malikai turned towards her. "Okay, were going to start."

He pushed his hands forward, sending a large wave of dark magic straight for Shelby. Without hesitation, she held her hands up to protect her face. She was pushed back by the force of the wave and slammed into Malikai's door. She fell to the ground, struggling to catch her breath.

"You better be ready," Malikai said, standing up straight. "Because what I'm doing, isn't going to be easy."

* * *

><p>"Where did Shelby go?" Kara asked as her, Emily, and Adriane walked into the library.<p>

Jen looked at her. "She went for a walk. She said she'll be right back."

"Oh, okay then."

"Okay, let's get started on today's training," Adriane said. She nodded at Haley and Liv, her usual training buddies. "Okay, girls. Let's go out into the backyard."

"Got it!" Haley said as she grabbed Liv's arm and pulled her out of the library.

Emily looked at Juls. "Let's go, Water Bug."

Juls, also known as Water Bug, nodded and followed Emily outside. Jen and Kara stayed in the library together, their usual training area.

"Okay, Jenni," Kara said. "Today, we're going to work on spellsinging."

"But I can't sing," Jen protested.

Kara shook her head. "I can't either. But I try. Now, let's get to work."

The blazing star walked over to the computer and clicked away. Suddenly, the familiar song of Supernatural High started playing.

"Okay, first, we have to learn how to conjure up a magical spellsong. The spellsong could be anything you want, but it has to have a positive feeling, because music is a good way to make pure, good magic."

Jen nodded. "Got it."

"Here comes the first verse! Remember, positive attitude."

The red head nodded, then sang with the blazing star.

**_I'm in my moon phase My pink days When everything is okay I am beautiful, invincible Perfectly impossible_**

As the girls sang, pure diamond magic flew from their jewels, enveloping them in the magical light. Different colors swirled around the room as Lyra joined in.

"That's it!" Kara sang the next verse by herself.

**_And nothing in this world can shake me_**

The blazing star pointed to Jen. Quickly, the Zodiac Mage sang.

_**Trip me up or complicate me**_

Both of the girls sang the next verse together, Lyra following.

_**Love is all that motivates me 'cause I I'm on a supernatural high I got a supernatural life You're the reason why I'm on a supernatural high**_

"Great!" Kara ran over to the computer and paused the song. "You two were great!"

"Thanks," Jen replied, blushing.

"Now, let's move to Feel The Magic!"

Oh, great, Jen thought tiredly. More Be*Tween.

* * *

><p>Emily lead Juls through the forest. The two mages were heading towards Mirror Lake, to practice their magic. As Emily walked through the forest and approached Mirror Lake, Juls stared in awe at the beautiful lake. Small, colorful fish swam below the surface, making the lake shine in different colors.<p>

"Pretty," Juls said smiling. "Glad you like it." Emily looked at the lake and smiled. "We'll begin your training here."

"Ok's."

"First," the healer started,"I'll show you how to move the water. That's one of the special abilities that you have."

"Really?"

Emily nodded. "Alrighty, then! Let's get started!"

The healer pointed her hand at the water. Her rainbow heart jewel glowed softly as she waved her hand. The surface of the water moved, causing ripples to spread across the smooth lake. Emily moved her hand up, causing the water to follow her movement. The surface broke as the water flew into the air.

"Whoa!" Juls exclaimed.

Emily smiled. "This is really easy compaired to what I can really do. This was just a demenstration. Now it's your turn."

Juls swallowed. This was way more than she had really expected, but it was still pretty cool. "Um, how do I start?"

"Just concentrate on the water," Emily said.

Juls nodded and pointed her hand at the water. She stared at the water intensely. Taking a deep breath, she moved her hand up. The water didn't budge.

"Hey! It won't move!"

She waved her hand up and down to no avail. After watching for a moment, Emily grabbed the girl's wrist. "Calm down, Juls. You need to concentrate. I kind of figured  
>that you wouldn't get it on the first try."<p>

"Good point..." Juls pointed her hand at the water again. Totally concentrated on the water, she moved her hand up. The surface of the water rippled. The mage let out a sigh of relief. "I moved it, at least."

"We'll keep trying. Don't get discouraged."

The Zodiac Mage hung her head. That took a lot of energy out of her. How could she possibly make it move a lot like Emily? It seemed almost impossible. No, it was impossible! There was no way she had the strength to move that much water.

"Come on, Juls. You can do it. You're tough right?" Juls looked at the healer and nodded. She was tough, or so she thought. That's when she realized that she couldn't give up. Not now. Not while she had come so far as to learn this stuff. She will learn how to move that damn water, no matter what!

The mage struck a pose and pointed both hands at the water. Emily stared at the girl in shock.

"I'm going to do this," Juls shouted. "Even if it takes me forever!"

* * *

><p>Adriane, Liv, and Haley walked behind the mansion together, heading towards the dense woods. Melanie was flying overhead, acting more hyperactive than usual.<p>

"Melanie, what's with you?" Haley asked the mini.

"Kooooo!" the tiny dragon smiled.

Haley sighed and looked at Adriane. "I swear I can't figure out that dragon."

"Sorry, girl," Adriane laughed. The girls stopped and looked at the dense woods of the Ravenswood Preserve. Dark figures moved along the shadows of the massive trees, sending chills up Liv and Haley's spine's. They knew that the preserve was safe, but they didn't know what lurked in those shadows.

"Okay, from what Emily told me, your element" -Adriane pointed at Haley- "is earth, like me."

"How does she know that exactly."

"Your Zodiac is Taurus, right?"

"Oh, right."

"See my point?"

"Yeah."

"Anyway, what you are going to be doing is growing flowers."

Liv and Haley raised an eyebrow at Adriane. "Flowers? Really?" Haley looked at the warrior skeptically.

"Well, yeah. It's harder than it looks. What I want you to do, is to try and grow flowers all along the tree lines here." Adriane pointed at the edged of the shadowy trees. Haley glanced at Melanie, who was now on her shoulder.

She looked at the warrior. "Well, if you think it'll help me out."

Haley held out her arms. Closing her eyes she concentrated all her energy on her surroundings. She tried to feel the earth under her feet as she sensed it. She could sense Melanie on her shoulder, concentrating as much as her bonded. Haley could tell that Melanie's magic was stronger somehow. More vibrant. How could that be?  
>She focused her energy on the forest. She imagined beautiful flowers popping out from the ground and surrounding the trees. Sending her magic through the ground, she summonded the colorful flowers upward. The flowers exploded from the ground, lining the trees in every direction.<p>

Adriane nodded and smiled warmly as her friend did what she had expected her to do. Liv just stared at the flowers. Why couldn't she do something like that?

"Great job, Haley," Adriane clapped a few times then smiled at the mage.

"Thanks." Haley was glad that Adriane was proud of her. That job was easier than she thought. Liv watched as the girls gushed over the flowers. What was her true ability? What could she do? Can she perform these types of tasks like her friends? She wasn't entirely sure.

* * *

><p>Roland ran through Ravenswood at top speed, a light mist following him. A black figure jumped through the trees, blending with the already darkened backround. Roland ran faster, trying to catch up with the creature. Static electricty ran up his arm as he held up his wrist. Light blue light burst from his jewel, flailing into a thick rope, and coiling around the creature.<p>

"Yes! Got you!" He wrapped the blue strand around his wrist and pulled tightly, securing the beast. The creature struggled against the magical rope, trying to free itself.

"You're not getting away," Roland said as he pulled the rope, yanking the creature down. Just as he thought that he had the beast, in mid air, the creature sent out a fierce roar. Purple wings erupted form the large cat's body, breaking the magical rope. Roland fell onto the ground. The cat stared into Roland's eyes. His glassy, emerald eyes staring at his chocolate brown eyes. Then he turned and flew away, his purple wings shimmering in the late sun.

Roland sat up, running his hand through his hair. "Damn it," he cursed softly as he started at the blue sky. "That shadow creature got away."

_"It wasn't really a shadow creature, but a dark creature."_

The mist next to him materialized into a beautiful sand colored wolf. The wolf stared at Roland, his bright yellow eyes smiling.

"Shadow creature, dark creature, it doesn't matter to me," Roland said as he stood up. He stared at the sky as the mistwolf nudged his hand. "They're all dark."

_"Not all dark creatures are bad,"_ the wolf said.

Roland shook his head then looked at the wolf. "Let's go, Goldeneyes. I need to find those girls."

Goldeneyes nodded and troted next to his bonded, heading for the line of the forest.


	18. Chapter 18

_**18**_

"Does anyone know where Shelby went?" Jen asked as her and Kara walked out towards Adriane, Liv, and Haley.

"I haven't seen her," Adriane said. "Maybe we should look around for a bit."

"I like that idea."

The girls walked out towards the Rocking Stone, then made their way towards the glade. It was all quiet there.

"Do you think she could be here?" Liv asked.

"Maybe. Let's look some more," Jen suggested.

* * *

><p>Malikai stared at Shelby as she was on the ground, his eyes piercing into hers.<p>

"I am deeply disappointed," he said. "How could you call yourself a dark Zodiac Mage? I've seen stronger imps!"

The mage coughed. That last blow to the stomach really knocked the wind out her. She really hoped that her asthma wasn't acting up.

"Get up and fight! Come on now! Don't keep me waiting!"

Shelby didn't respond. She was way too tired from training with Malikai. On the other hand, Malikai was getting anxious. He couldn't wait anymore, plus his anger was building up.

He reached down and grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her up to his level. Shelby couldn't believe how strong he was. Malikai looked her straight in the eyes, his purple ones angery.

"Come on and fight! You call yourself a mage? You can't even control your powers! How are you suppose to fight correctly, huh?"

Shelby was getting really tired of Malikai yelling at her. She stared back at his eyes, hers daring.

Suddenly Malikai felt it. Her dark power was growing exceptionally. He could see the dark power shimmering around her frame, making her seem evilish.

"You wanna fight?" she asked in a hushed tone that made her sound almost as vial as the Dark Sorceress. "Then I'll fight, Malikai."

She pushed her hand into his face and sent a powerful wave of dark magic into him. He released his grip and stummbled backwards, obviously stunned by the attack.

This was her chance. Shelby ran forward and ducked down as Malikai threw a punch. She threw her leg around, sweeping his feet out from under him. Malikai fell to the ground, his head slamming against the trunk of a tree. Shelby reached out and grabbed the neck lining of his shirt and pulled, forcing Malikai's upper body to jerk forward. Just as quickly, she pulled her hand back as dark magic surrounded it. The magic formed a clawed paw, twice the size of her original hand. The claws extended as she threw her hand forward.

Malikai gasped as the dark magic hit the tree trunk instead of him. Shelby let go of Malikai's shirt, letting him fall to the ground. She pulled her hand back from the trunk as the dark magic surrounding it disappeared. The dark aura surrounding her disapated as well.

Malikai stared at the girl and smiled. "Well, that was certainly unfair of you."

"Unfair? Yeah, right."

The boy laughed as Shelby brushed herself off. That was quite a display of power, she thought. She hoped that she could do it again.

"Don't you think that we should get you back home now?" Malikai suggested.

Shelby laughed. "So that you won't have to fight me again? Yeah, you're probably right."

The two walked along the path that lead to the portal field. Along the way, Malikai glanced at Shelby.

"Hey, do you mind if I go with you and see what your home is like?"

"You mean Ravenswood? I think my mom would freak if i brought a boy home."

"Uh, yeah."

"Then okay."

* * *

><p>Shelby stepped through the portal. Adriane, Kara, Jen, Liv, and Haley were standing there, waiting.<p>

"Where were you?" Jen asked her friend.

"I was training with a friend," Shelby replied. She looked back at the portal as Malikai walked through it. He casually smiled at the awaiting girls.

"Hello."

The girls smiled back shyly, their faces flushing.

"This is Malikai," Shelby said. "My friend."

"Hi," mostly everyone said.

The tall boy smiled warmly. "The pleasure is all mine."

Jen tapped Shelby's shoulder, whispering into her ear,"Girl, he's totally hot!"

"Shh!"

Malikai looked over and Shelby and smiled, making her smile back nervously. She shot a look at Jen, and the red head just smiled. Liv stared at the dark Zodiac Mage.

He looks totally gothic, she thought. Shelby is sooooo lucky.

Suddenly a howl broke through the forest. Everyone grew quiet and searched the forest for the source of the howl.

Adriane and Kara took fighting stances, ready to defend their friends. Even though Jen and Haley didn't know how to control their powers, they took fighting stances too, ready to help out the warrior and blazing star. Dreamer and Lyra crouched low next to their bondeds, their teeth bared.

There was a loud bark, then a sand colored wolf burst through the trees and into the clearing that was the glade, his bright yellow eyes filled with hate and his teeth bared in a snarl.

* * *

><p>Emily and Juls were moving the water together. Juls was able to get the water moving after just a few minutes but still needed help. Emiy decided to test the abilities of the water Zodiac Mage by combining their powers. It had wonderous results! The two could move the water while being perfectly insync with each other. It was glorious!<p>

After a few minutes of magic, the girls sat down near the lake to take a break.

"That was very good," Emily complemented.

"Really? 'Cause I thought that it sucked."

"I don't think so. It was fantastic!"

Juls blushed. "Thanks."

The sound of footsteps came from behind them. The girls turned to see Roland walking towards them.

"Hey, Roland," Emily said casually. "What brings you here?"

"I was following a creature that had dark magic."

Both girls stood up.

"It's in the forest," he continued. "We need to find it. And fast."

"Let's all go and look," Juls suggested. "We might be able to find it."

"Alright let's go."

A howl echoed through the forest, stunning the girls.

"What was that?" Juls asked to herself.

_"I've found something,"_ Goldeneyes's voice said in Roland's head.

"My mistwolf found something," he said to the girls. "C'mon! We need to hurry!" The group ran through the forest. Roland lead them to the glade where Goldeneyes just ran in, snapping his jaws. Adriane, Kara, Jen, and Haley's eyes widened as they saw Emily, Juls, and Roland run into the glade. The wolf growled at Shelby and Malikai.

"Goldeneyes," Roland said,"it's okay. These people are our friends."

_"Not that person."_ The mistwolf pointed his snout at Malikai. Roland followed his bondeds gaze and rested his eyes on Malikai. He gasped silently.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he yelled, pointing at Malikai.

Malikai stared at Roland, a shocked expression on his face. When he didn't respond, Emily interjected.

"What're you talking about?" she asked.

Roland's expression of anger hardened. "That guy, Malikai whatever, is a wanted criminal!"


	19. Chapter 19

_**19**_

"That's not true!" Shelby shouted at Roland.

Roland shook his head. "He's wanted on the web. He worked with the Dark Sorceress on countless occasions. He's nearly her right hand man!"

"Shut up!" Malikai screamed. "You don't know anything! Nothing at all!"

The glade grew quiet. Roland and Malikai stared at each other in hate for what seemed like forever. Their gazes locked on each other's. They looked like as if they were about to start fighting.

"Okay, okay, enough you two." Jen stepped between them, placing her hands on each other their chests and pushing them back. "There will be no fighting here."

"Screw this, I'm out of here." Malikai turned and jumped through the portal.

"Malikai, wait!" Shelby shouted as he disappeared. The portal closed before she could leap after him. She looked back and Roland, her mouth in a thin line. "What was that all about?"

"Look, I'm just trying to protect you guys! He worked with the Dark Sorceress! He's evil."

Shelby sneered at Roland and pushed past him, heading towards the mansion. Everyone watched her go in silence. Jen looked at Roland and shook her head, her eyes down casted.

Emily approached Roland, her eyes sad. "Not all dark magic users are evil. I should know."

She turned and walked away, heading in the same direction as Shelby had gone. Everyone, except Jen and Roland, left the glade and followed Emily back towards the mansion. Jen looked at Roland.

"I know that you meant well."

"I was just trying to protect my friends. That's all."

He looked down at Goldeneyes sadly. The mistwolf stared back at him. Jen smiled and bent down, petting the mistwolf's neck.

"Your mistwolf is beautiful."

Roland's eyes widened for a second. "How did you know he was a mistwolf?"

"What other kind of magical wolf is there?"

He smiled. "Good point."

Jen stood up and walked towards the mansion, Roland following close behind. Darlada appeared next to Jen. The horn on her head shined brightly. "What a beautiful unicorn," Roland commented.

"Thanks," Jen replied, blushing.

* * *

><p>Tyler annoyingly walked through the streets of Stonehill. He wasn't feeling to well and needed to get home from his friends'. He was playing Rise of the Dead two when all of a sudden he felt sick and needed to leave. So now here he was, walking through the streets, with a killer headache. How could possibly get any worse? he thought.<p>

Turns out it did.

Those voices came back again. This time, most of them were shouting, irritating him. These voices will just never leave him alone now, will they? They'll always come back and haunt him. Always having something new to say. It was an never ending nightmare!

Tyler struggled to get his thoughts orginized as he walked down the sidewalk. It was really hard to think with all these voices talking at once. After a while, he started to slow his steps. His headache was turing into a migraine. He hung his head, not watching where he was going. His shoulder slammed into something. He looked up to see a tall, business looking man staring at him.

"Watch where you're going, kid," he snapped. He stepped around Tyler and kept walking.

As he passed, another voice came into Tyler's head.

_**What a jerk.**_

Tyler shook it off and continued walking down the street. At the edge of Oak Avenue, two cars were wedged together. Probably a collision, he thought. A crowd of people surrounded the car as two ambulences carried two bodies into the back of the vehicles. As Tyler passed, more and more voices filled his head.

_**Oh, my. What an accident!**_  
><em><strong><br>I bet they were drunk.**_  
><em><strong><br>Are they dead? Who called the police? This is an accident, not a crime scene!**_  
><em><strong><br>Where's my camera? I better get a picture of this!**_

Tyler clenched his head as he walked near the scene of the accident. There was no stopping these voices. Ever. He collasped onto the ground, still clenching his head. His migraine was getting much worse. So bad that he felt as if he couldn't move anymore. He cried out, attracting some attention from the group nearby. The large group stared at Tyler as he shuddered, obviously in pain. The group stepped towards him.

"Oh, my God. Is he okay?" someone asked.

"We should get one of those paramedics over here."

"Hey! This kid needs help!"

As the paramedics approached Tyler, the voices in his head became louder and louder. He felt as if his head was about to explode.

One of the paramedics loomed over Tyler, concerned for him. "Hey, kid. You okay? Can you hear me?"

Just then, Tyler snapped.

**_"Get outta my head!" _**he screamed.

A gust of wind blew over the area. Everyone's eyes widened then settled. The paramedics and the crowd turned and walked away from Tyler, as if he wasn't even there to begin with. As the people got on with their lives, Tyler blacked out, the last thing he remembered was a voice saying that they needed to buy lunch.

* * *

><p>The shadowy figure moved through the night on the streets of Stonehill. The dark shadow stopped upon seeing it's target. The shadow grinned as it's target slightly moved.<p>

Tyler's eyes opened. He was staring at the cemented sidewalk while his head was still pounding. He felt dazed, out of state and mind, even though he was there now.  
>He pushed himself against the ground in an effort to get up. As he tried to move, his head exploded in pain. He doubled over, his chin hitting the sidewalk.<p>

"You've...got to be...kidding me," he mumbled as he looked down the street. He realized that it was night time, considering how dark it was outside. He figured out how late it was by looking at the moon. It was high in the sky, which ment that it was close to midnight. Great, he thought. His mom was going to kill him for sure. And that's when he realized something.

The voices were gone.

He knew that they weren't gone completely. They'll come back. They always come back after some time. He tried to stand again, but was quickly brought down by the pain. What was he suppose to do now?

Suddenly a shadow enveloped him. He looked up and saw a woman looming over him, covering the light from the full moon. The woman smiled at him, her long blonde hair shimmering in the moonlight.

"Who... Who are you?" Tyler struggled to say as he looked at her.

The woman grinned, showing off white teeth.

_**I am here to help you.**_

The voice in Tyler's head was gentle and sweet. It didn't sound threatening at all. He stared at the woman as the voice spoke again.

_**You can hear my thoughts, can't you?**_

Tyler gasped. "That's your voice, isn't it?"

"Yes," the woman said. "I can see that you can, indeed, read minds, young one."

"Read minds?" The thought crossed Tyler's mind a thousand times, but he never thought of it to be true. Not even once. He just thought that he was crazy.

"Yes, dear boy, read minds. That is a special, and very helpful, power."

"How do you know that I can read minds? And who are you? What do you want?"

The woman smiled kindly, her green eyes sparkling.

"I am Miranda. And don't worry. I will help you. You see, you have magnificent powers beyond your wildest dreams. For you are a Zodiac Mage, Tyler."

"A what?"

"Do you remember earlier? How all those people were trying to help you but they turned and walked away?"

Tyler remembered it clearly. How could he possibly forget such an experience? He felt absolutely in control for a second during that time.

"I take that you do remember." Miranda kneeled in front of Tyler, making herself the same height as the boy. "What happened back there was that you took control of all those people's minds and told them to go away."

Tyler flinched. "I... I did that?"

Miranda nodded. "And you could do so much more. But only if I teach you. I can teach you everything that you need to know. You can stop those voices from ever entering your head ever again. I promise you that."

Tyler couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was all a big shock to him. But he could imagine it. He could see it now. All the power that he could ever want. He wanted it. Needed it. He stared at Miranda's eyes, determination in his.

"Please, Miranda, teach me."

Miranda grinned, two fangs glistening in the moonlight. She held out her hand to Tyler. He took it, having her help him to his feet. Suddenly his headache was gone and he felt great. Like a new person. Only because he was a new person. A totally different Tyler than what he originally was. Miranda flipped her hair over her shoulders, revealing her marvelous outfit.

"Welcome to the world of magic, Zodiac Mage."

The Dark Sorceress finally had what she wanted.


	20. Chapter 20

_**20**_

Malikai pased back and forth in his small house. He was absolutely furious with the Zodiac Mage called Roland. He was used against his will against the Dark Sorceress. There was nothing he could do about her at all. He couldn't resist because she was way too strong a sorceress than him. There was no choice over the subject. He had to obey her. He waved his hand over the black table's surface, making everything in his path fall to the black carpeted floor. He pounded his fist against the table, frustrated that people thought of him as a criminal.

"How could they?" he screamed. "I am not a criminal! I was _used!_ Forced to work under her power!"

He hung his head, staring at his feet. How could he prove his innocence?

Can he prove his innocence?

* * *

><p>Friday morning, Roland and Jen were talking together in their last class of the day. Jen listened to Roland as she painted her tiny statue of a dragon.<p>

"I'm a little worried, Jen," Roland said.

"About?"

"Tyler."

"That guy you always hang out with?"

"He's not just my friend. He's my best friend."

Jen nodded as she painted the ears of her statue. "Oh. Well, what's to worry about?"

"He's been missing for two days."

Jen dropped her paint brush, spilling red paint all over the dragon's yellow belly. She squealed and looked at the statue. "Aww, man! I'll have to redo that again."

"Sorry about that." Roland ran a hand through his hair nervously.

The light Zodiac Mage shook her head. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."

"Anyway, Tyler's been missing for days. I'm really worried, Jen."

She looked Roland straight in the eyes. "Don't worry. He'll turn up. I promise."

Roland smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>After school, Jen walked into the Ravenswood mansion with Roland at her heels. They walked up the stairs and headed into the library together.<p>

"Hey, girls."

Emily, Adriane, Kara, Juls, Shelby, Haley, and Liv smiled at Jen as she and Roland entered the library.

"Hey, girlie," Kara rushed over to Jen, giving her a hug. "Where have you been?"

"No where," Jen laughed. "Is it okay if Roland joins us for today? He's kinda down."

"Sure!" Emily said. "He's welcome here anytime."

"Great. Take a seat anywhere."

Roland slumped down in a chair and stared at the ceiling, his eyes blank. Jen walked over to the rest of the girls and started a conversation with them. Just then, Ozzie, Dreamer, Lyra, Darlada, Melanie, and Goldeneyes entered the library together.

"They're here," Juls yelled as she ran towards the bonded animals.

"What exactly do you do here?" Roland asked. Adriane turned towards him.

"Usually, this is a place for us to hang out and get work done, like tour dates and what not."

"Oh, what fun."

Goldeneyes walked over to Roland and nudged his hand. He casually petted the mistwolf.

"Hey, guys," Jen said, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Roland's friend Tyler has been missing for a few days. Do you think that it's magic related?"

"Do you honestly think that someone's disappearance was the doing of magic? We can't always assume that," Kara said.

"She's right," Emily added.

Jen shook her head. "You're probably right. Sorry I asked."

She looked at Roland. A sad expression was on his face.

* * *

><p>The group of Kobolds stared blankly at the boy standing in front of them. He was breathing rapidly, trying to make air reach his lungs as he was performing this difficult task. The turquoise holly on his black leather bracelet shimmered deep purple as he concentrated on the Kobold's minds.<p>

"That's it, Tyler. Concentrate."

The Dark Sorceress watched on the sidelines as the young Zodiac Mage took control of the Kobold's minds. The bear like creature's eyes glowed the same color as Tyler's jewel as they listened to his comands.

"Tell them to give you part of their magic," the Dark Sorceress ordered.

Tyler waisted no time. "Kobolds, give me part of your magic."

"We shall obey."

The Kobolds willingly gave their magic to Tyler. This is way too easy, he thought.

Without Tyler noticing, the Dark Sorceress took the dark magic that was given to him. Her own dark magic strengthened ten times more than what it originally was. What a pleasant feeling it was. To steal magic from those pathetic creatures. Tyler ordered the Kobolds to walk away from him and the Dark Sorceress. As they did this, he released his hold on their minds, breathing rapidly.

"How was that?" Tyler asked his mentor.

The Dark Sorceress nodded. "That was glorious, Tyler. You just need more practice with that one. Now, we must move on to the next task. Which is erasing memory."

Tyler nodded. This was more interesting than he had thought.

* * *

><p>Ozzie looked at the map Tweek had set up in the Ravenswood library. While the girls were talking about tour dates and training sessions, Tweek was showing Ozzie a map of the magic web. In the corner of the map was a small black dot.<p>

"What is that?" Ozzie asked the E.F.

"Looks like a dot," Tweek answered.

"Not that, you twig! I meant what it is. Not what it looks like!"

"Okay, okay. It seems like a small mark of dark magic. That's all."

Ozzie stared at the dot skeptically. He wasn't sure what he should do, but that small black dot looked ominious, and seemed eerie. There was something odd about it.

"So we get to help with the tours?" Juls asked.

Kara nodded. "It's so totally cool because we get to show unexpecting people around this beautiful preserve."

"Wicked cool," Haley commented.

"It totally is."

"Emily!" Ozzie jumped onto the table where the girls were talking.

"What is it, Ozzie?" The ferret grabbed Tweek by the twig and pulled the experimental fairimental onto the table, making the map follow. Ozzie pointed to the dark magic spot on the map. "Look at this."

"What about it?" the healer asked.

"What is that?"

Emily squinted her eyes at the dot. She nodded. "Oh, that's the Otherwolds. The only place that carries dark magic on the entire web. But... This is odd."

"What is?" Shelby asked.

"The dark magic seems more vibrant than usual."

Everyone suddenly grew quiet. Emily stared at the dot. What could be going on there? she wondered.

"It's Malikai! I told you!"

Everyone turned to see Roland walk into the library.

"Are you outta your mind?" Shelby yelled. "He's not an evil person!"

"It has to be him!" Roland pointed at the dot on the map. "He's the only person in the Otherworlds that can control dark magic. What other explaination could there be?"

Shelby winced. She knew that Malikai wasn't a bad guy, but she started to realize what Roland was saying. Malikai might be behind this.

"We should go and investigate," Adriane offered.

"Good idea," Kara agreed.

"I second that," Emily added. "We need to find the sorce of all that dark magic before it sprends arcoss the entire web."

"I agree," Roland said. "We need to protect the good magic while we can."

"Then it's settled. We leave tomorrow," Jen said. The mages nodded. Shelby stared at her feet, defeated by her fellow mages.


	21. Chapter 21

_**21**_

The next day, Shelby walked to the glade alone. She stood before the shimmering pool and stared into it. She had to warn Malikai about her friend's plans. With all her might, she summounded up the magnificent, pink portal. She stepped into it and casually walked across the magic web to the Otherworlds. Once stepping onto the portal field, she raced towards Malikai's home. She pounded on the front door.

The dark Zodiac mage opened the door and stared at Shelby surprisingly. "Hey, what's-"

"They're coming for you!" she shouted.

Malikai's eyes widened. "Wh-What're you talking about?"

"My friends are coming to question you. They think that you're trying to release dark magic across the web like the Dark Sorceress."

Malikai stared at her for a moment, then his expression turned hard. He turned and beckoned for his fellow mage to follow him. The two walked inside Malikai's house and sat at the black table.

"How could they think such a thing?" Malikai said to himself. He turned towards Shelby. "I bet that it was that Roland guy, right?"

Shelby nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so. Everyone believes him because they barely know you. Unlike the way I know you."

Malikai's lips twitched. He wanted to smile, but obviously couldn't. "Thanks... Anyway, how could I be doing this stuff when I've been keeping an eye on the sudden increase in dark magic?"

"You've been keeping track of the dark magic?"

He nodded and waved his hand. Purple-ish mist appeared out of nowhere and twisted, forming into a small map of the magical web. "I've been wondering about the magic spike myself," Malikai said. "I even investigated the area, and found nothing. Maybe, most likely, it's the Dark Sorceress."

"That's not possible!" Shelby protested. "The Dark Sorceress was killed, right?"

Malikai stared at the map hard. His eyes were pained. "I... I'm not sure..."

"What?"

"I... I don't know, but I feel as if she's alive somehow... We have a...special connection, I guess you can call it?"

"What do you mean by that?"

He shook his head, his eyes sad and shameful. "Because she's my-"

Suddenly, a knock came from the door.

* * *

><p>Emily, Adriane, Kara, Jen, Juls, Haley, Liv, and Roland stood at the edge of the portal in the glade. Kara turned to face the crowd.<p>

"Okay, listen up!" the blazing star shouted. "This is the plan. Emily, Adriane, Jen, Roland, and I will enter the Otherworlds and search for Malikai. Juls, Haley, and Liv will stay here and keep us monitored with Tweek. Plus, keep trying Shelby and see if she's gonna join us. Understand?"

Juls raised her hand.

"What is it?"

"Yeah, um, who died and made you boss?"

Kara was about to pounce at the water Zodiac Mage if it weren't for Adriane holding her back.

"Yeah, so as the blazing airhead was saying," Adriane continued,"we'll go after the mage."

"Everyone ready?" Roland said.

"Yes," the healer said.

Ozzie smiled as he stood on her shoulder. "I'm ready to kick some dark Zodiac Mage butt!"

"Lyra and I are ready," Kara said.

"So is Dreamer and I," the warrior comfirmed.

Jen smiled as she thought of Darlada, her bonded unicorn. Everytime she thought of her, she would feel much stronger than ever.

Roland smiled. "Alright, let's go!"

The group jumped into the portal and headed across the web together. After their travel, they landed in the Otherworlds' portal field. The group saw a narrow  
>pathway through the trees and made their way towards it. <p>

* * *

><p>"I don't like the feel of this place," Roland said, obviously on guard.<p>

Jen nodded. "Me either. I have pure good magic, so, I guess it's like negative energy towards this place."

They walked along the path until they came upon a small house. It seemed to be so omnious in a scary place like they were in.

Emily looked at Ozzie. The ferret shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

The healer walked up to the door and knocked.

* * *

><p>Shelby shot up from her seat and stared at the door. Malikai raised a hand, telling her to calm down. He walked towards the door and opened it casually.<p>

"Yes?"

Emily stared at the mage for a moment, then remembered her task.

"We would like to ask you some questions, Malikai."

He stepped out of the house, Shelby following him. The grouped stared in surprise.

"What're you doing here?" Jen asked her friend.

"I was uh..."

"Nevermind her," Malikai said. "I just want to say that I am innocent. I am not responsible for the increase of dark magic in this general area."

Emily listened as he explained. Ozzie frowned.

"Don't be lyin', you evil mage!" the ferret yelled while punching the air. "Lemme at him!"

"Slow down, Mr. Ferret," Jen said patting Ozzie's head. "Let Emily take care of this."

"He's lying!"

"No, he's not," Emily said. She stepped forward and stared into Malikai's eyes. The dark Zodiac Mage stared at her curiously. The healer closed her eyes. Then she snapped them open. Malikai could feel it. Emily was searching through his mind with her mage powers to find the truth. The healer searched his mind carefully, and eventually she tore away her powerful gaze.

"I can sense it. Not to mention that I searched his mind for the truth. So, he's not lying. I should've done that before."

"I told you he was innocent," Shelby said, hooking her arm around Malikai's. He blushed.

"Then... What's going on here?" Jen asked. Malikai motioned inside his house. "Please, everyone, follow me and I'll explain."

The mages looked at one another and shrugged. They followed Malikai inside his house. He pointed towards the floating map above the table. "I've been monitoring the sudden increase in dark magic around this area and I believe that I can track it down."

"You can?" Roland said in awe.

Malikai nodded. "Of course. Magic attracts magic. Dark magic attracts other dark magic. You know that much."

"Then please," Kara said sarcasticly,"lead the way."

"Gladly."

He lead the group outside. He raised his hand as a purple and black haze swirled around it. Closing his eyes, he tried to sense a great amount of dark magic anywhere he could think of. Then, he saw it. He opened his eyes and turned to the group.

"That spike is in the Black Grass plain! Let's go!"

The mages and bondeds followed Malikai through the Otherworlds carefully. The pushed aside the trees and bushes as they traveled through the forest. Malikai stopped and moved the tree branches aside. "This is it."

A great plain was filled with long black grass that stretched on for over a mile. The dark Zodiac Mage walked into it without searching the area first.

"The Dark Sorceress's palace use to be here," he said. "Maybe we should search there first."

"Only if your magic takes us there," Roland said.

Malikai ignored that comment and continued walking, sensing the magic. They eventually came upon a large dark door. Adriane and Dreamer pushed and together, they opened the door successfully. The mages stepped inside the Dark Sorceress's palace and gazed at the room they entered. It was huge, with black crystallized shandelears and dark curtains covering old glass windows. The large corridor was echoing with the sound of laughter that scared the group.

"Wh-What was that?" Kara stammered.

"Let's find out," Haley said as she stomped towards the large staircase at the far end of the room. The rest of her friends stomped after her as they followed the sound of laughter. They reached the top of the stairs and stopped when they saw a long hallway. They walked down the hallway and stopped when they came to a dead end.

"There's nothing here," Kara said. "But... But that laugh-" Jen studdered.

"There is something here," Malikai said stepping forward. He touched the wall and concentrated. Suddenly, a black door appeared out of nowhere, materializing into the wall. The mages gasped. "How did you do that?" Adriane said.

"Dark magic attracts dark magic," Emily repeated.

Malikai nodded. "Exactly right, healer." He reached down and grabbed the door knob. He slowly opened the door.

The mages stared out onto a large platform that lead outside. It was as huge as a mansion's roof top. As they stepped out onto the platform, they noticed someone standing on the oppisite side of them. The person was laughing evily.

"Hey! You!" Roland called. "What're you doing here?"

The person turned and the mages gasped.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the great mages of Ravenswood," the Dark Sorceress said. "So glad of you to join me."


	22. Chapter 22

_**22**_

"You're still alive?" the mages shouted at the same time.

The Dark Sorceress nodded. "Indeed I am, mages."

"What're you doing here?" Roland shouted.

"What do you mean? I live here, Roland."

Roland flinched. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I know all of your names." The Dark Sorceress grinned, fangs glistening. "Jennifer, the light Zodiac Mage. Haley, the earth Zodiac Mage. Roland, the lightning Zodiac Mage. Shelby, the dark Zodiac Mage, and let's not forget my favorite, Malikai, the other dark Zodiac Mage."

She laughed wickedly. Malikai looked as if he was about to burst into tears.

"What're you planning?" he said calmly.

The Dark Sorceress's thin lips curled into a dangerous smile. "What I was originally planning: to rid the web of good magic, and to overrun it with dark magic."

"You'll never get away with that," Emily said strongly.

"You'll fail, like last time," Adriane added without fear.

"Totally," Kara commented while smiling.

"Oh, please. You girls are not worth fighting anymore. I now have a follower."

She stepped aside to reveal someone standing behind her. The boy ran a hand through his hair and smiled evily at the group. Roland gasped. "Tyler! What're you doing here?"

Tyler didn't say anything. He just smiled. The Dark Sorceress laughed.

"Isn't this wonderful?" she asked looking at Roland. "He told me a lot about you, dear Roland. Oh, but the poor boy was suffering."

"Suffering?"

She nodded. "I was exploring into the human world and I found him withering in pain on a lonely sidewalk at night. Poor boy. He didn't know how to use his unique powers. He has quite a gift."

"What gift? What powers?" Jen questioned.

"You don't know?" The Dark Sorceress asked. "He's a Zodiac Mage. And not just any ordinary Zodiac, but one of the most powerful of them all: the psyhic."

The blood drained form Roland's face. He had no idea that Tyler was so immensely powerful, let alone a Zodiac Mage. He never knew...

"Honestly, how could you not know?" she pressed on. "He is absolutely amazing. He learned how to control his powers within a few days. Truely impressive. He was so alone that night. He was truely in pain because he couldn't stop those pesky thoughts from other people entering his mind. But I taught him to learn to do so. Now, he works for me."

"What? That's obsurd! He won't betray his friends! Ever!"

Emily tapped into her senses. Using her magical vision, she could see Tyler's lavender aura being corrupted by the Dark Sorceress's own dark magic. Tyler was obviously under her spell.

Tyler stared at the group and spoke. "What shall I do with them, Madam?"

His voice sounded different then from when Roland remembered. He couldn't compair it to anything. "Wisk them away," she answered,"while I watch."

The Dark Sorceress stepped back a few feet and smiled. Her animal eyes glistened as she watched. Tyler raised his hands. "So, who wishes to be my puppet?"

"Tyler, snap out of it!" Roland shouted. "This isn't you!"

"He's right!" Jen said. "Please, look into your heart and see who you really are!"

Tyler chuckled, his eyes flashing dark lavender. "I think she would be my puppet. My marionet!"

Tyler and Jen's eyes locked together. Tyler easily slipped into the light Zodiac Mage's mind and took it over. She had no idea what hit her. All Jen knew was that she quickly slipped into absolute darkness, not knowing if she was to return or not.

Her body went limp then she stood up straight, almost military like.

Tyler smiled. "Take care of them."

Jen nodded and turned towards her friends. She spread her arms apart then pushed her open palms towards them. A powerful light burst from her hands and slammed into her friends, pushing them into the wall. The light engulfed them, becoming a wide circle around the group. Jen pulled her hands up, as if she was pulling a rope, and directed the orb of light to float into the air. She held her new prisoners in the orb, watching them carefully as her eyes glowed light purple. Tyler walked up to the orb and grinned.

"Isn't this just perfect?" he asked. "I have complete control over her." He placed his hands on her cheeks, his grin widening. "She's almost perfect to draw magic from."

"Stay away from her!" Roland called.

Tyler laughed and walked towards the orb. Roland was pushing his hands against the side of the orb, hoping to break himself free.

"My friend," Tyler said. "You will not interfere with our plans."

Roland couldn't believe what was happening. How could Tyler have subcome to the Dark Sorceress? He should've took him down immediately, to save Jen, at least.

While Tyler was distracted, Kara spoke to her friends telepathiclly.

_"Guys, I have an idea."_

_"Oh, my God!"_ Adriane thought._ "Kara has an idea!"_

_"Not now,"_ Emily thought. _"Maybe if I play a song telepathiclly in Jen's head, she might come to her senses."_

Adriane's eyes widened. _"That might actually work."_

_"Good idea, Kara!"_ Emily said.

The blazing star smiled. _"Well, thank you."_

The mages concentrated. They began to sing Spirit of Avalon in their heads and then motion it into the light Zodiac Mage's head. Jen's mind immediatley started to clear up. In her mind, she began to emerge from the darkness. Suddenly, her vision cleared as the Spirit of Avalon song rang through her head. Her eyes changed back to their original light blue. Tyler turned just in time to see a beam of light smash into his face. He spiraled away from the orb of light and crashed into the far end of the platform. The orb disappeared and Jen's friends fell to the floor. She ran towards them.

"Is everyone okay?"

Shelby rubbed her head and smiled. "Yeah, thanks."

Roland stood up and stared at Jen. "How...?"

She looked at the three mages. "They helped me."

Roland smiled at the mages as his eyes watered a little. "Thank you."

Kara scratched her head nervously. "Ah, your welcome? Heh..."

Suddenly, Tyler stood and faced the group, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He laughed once.

"Is that all you got, mages? I can take more... That was incredibly weak! C'mon! Attack me!" He raised his hands and stared intensely at them. "What the hell are you waiting for?"

Roland squeezed his fists until his hands trembled. What as Tyler become? he thought.

The Dark Sorceress emerged from the shadows and put her hand on Tyler's shoulder. He looked at her in anger. "Back away, Zodiac Mage," she said. "I'll take care of this."

"But... But Miranda-"

"Don't disobey me."

Tyler stared at her for a moment then looked down. He quietly backed away.

"It seems as though I can't fight you all now. So, why don't you come back later?" she insisted.

"We'll settle this once and for all!" Emily shouted.

"No turing back!" Adriane and Kara yelled.

The Dark Sorceress began to laugh. "How touching. Oh well. Goodbye."

She waved her hand and a black veil appeared behind the group. A strong wind began to pull them back into the black abyss. They tried to struggle, but it was too powerful.

"Oh, and Malikai," the Dark Sorceress began,"it was so pleasurable to see you again, nephew."

"Nephew?" half of the group said before disappearing into the veil.

* * *

><p>The mages landed in the portal field of Ravenswood, totally freaked out about what had happened. Roland stood up and kicked a rock, his mistwolf staring at him sadly. Shelby helped Malikai stand up as the other mages were helped by their bondeds.<p>

"The Dark Sorceress is you aunt?" everyone said to Malikai.

The dark Zodiac Mage stared at the ground. "Yes."

Shelby saw how sad he was. She decided to take a chance. She took his hand in hers and held it firmly. Malikai slightly blushed as she squeezed his hand to make him feel better.

"Why don't we go up to the mansion and talk a little bit?" Emily said.

Malikai looked at her and nodded. "That would be best."

They started to walk towards the mansion together. Jen stayed behind and watched Roland curiously. He just walked around the portal field, kicking the same rock, Goldeneyes following him. She walked up to him and touched his shoulder. He quickly pulled it away from her.

"I'm sorry, Roland," Jen said gently,"about Tyler..."

"I just wish I knew before she got to him..."

He stopped walking and stared at the ground. Goldeneyes whined next to him. Jen walked up to Roland again and hugged him from behind, trying to make him feel better. He pulled away from her and turned, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and enveloping her in a hug. Surprised, Jen hugged him back. Why couldn't that last forever? she thought.

* * *

><p>Shelby sat next to Malikai and listened as he explained to everyone.<p>

"You see, my father was her brother. They were as inseperable as any other brother and sister. But...when she became evil, my father tried to stop her. She ended up taking his magic, the cold witch she is. He died right in front of me. I was only eight years old. My mother had died when I was young, so my only other living relative was my aunt Miranda herself. She took me in, and tried to raise me into being evil. But I always thought it was wrong. I still had no choice, however. So she made her do her dirty work.

"When I turned fourteen, I heard news that she had been killed. I was overjoyed. I would've lived in her palace but there were just too many bad memories there. So, using my magic, I built my small house on the outskirts of the Otherworlds' portal field. Living on my own was a great idea, until I knew the loneliness behind it."  
>He stopped there and wouldn't continue. He was on the verge of tears. Shelby, not really the mooshy type, touched his shoulder, trying to comfort him.<p>

"I'm sorry," she said.

Malikai looked at her and smiled, his beautiful purple eyes shinning. "Thanks."

"So, she's your aunt?" Adriane asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"I feel so bummed out," Kara said slumping in a chair.

"Don't worry, Malikai," Emily said. "You don't need to be afraid anymore."

He looked at her. "She'll find me, I know it." He shivered.

"Not here. You can sleep here in the library."

His eyes widened. "Really? You'll let me?"

"Of course we will!" Kara shot up from her chair. "You're our friend, Malikai! We don't abandon our friends."

"And sorry for accusing you," Adriane said. "We jump to conclusions way too fast."

"I agree," Roland said as he and Jen walked in. "I am sorry too."

Malikai stood up and walked towards Roland. The dark Zodiac Mage held his hand out. The lightning Zodiac Mage smiled and took his hand, shaking it. "Apology accepted," said Malikai.

The boys smiled.

"This is so great!" Haley shouted as she jumped up. "Rivals making up!"

"Heh, yeah, it is great," Jen said as she smiled at Roland.

"But now, we need to make plans," Emily said.

"Yeah! We gotta figure out how to stop the Dark Sorceress before she takes over the web again!" Ozzie protested.

"Yes, but tomorrow," Malikai said. "It's getting late."

"Oh, crap!" Shelby gasped as she looked at her phone. "I need to be home in like five minutes!"

"Let's go," Roland said. "My mom will drive us home."

Jen, Juls, Haley, Liv, and Roland rushed out of the library. Shelby smiled at Malikai before leaving. He looked at the mages and bowed. "Thank you for your kindness."

"That's what we do," Kara smiled. "We help people."


	23. Chapter 23

_**23**_

Monday at school, Jen, Shelby, Haley, Liv, Hailey, Mike, Emily, Adriane, Kara, and Roland were sitting at their usuall lunch table together. Everyone was talking up a storm as usual. Suddenly Jen stood up.

"I'll be right back guys."

"Okay, don't take long," Shelby shouted.

Jen nodded and walked towards the girls bathroom outside the cafeteria. She was about to go into a stall when someone said,"Where are you going?"

She jumped and turned to see Jason standing behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here!" she screamed. "Doesn't your dumbass know that this is a girl's bathroom!"

He smiled. "Of course I know this is a girls bathroom. Why do you think I'm in here?"

That made no sense to Jen at all. She crossed her arms and stared at her ex. "Alright, what do you want?"

"To have you and me alone."

"We're alone. So talk."

He walked closer to her, his eyes shinning. Jen grew tense with every step he took.

"Don't you think we deserve a second chance?" he asked. "Don't you think I do?"

He stared at her quietly. Jen's expression never changed from angery. "No. You don't."

"Oh, come on. Everyone deserves it. Even me."

"Especially not you."

Jen back away as he stepped closer. Her back hit the wall. Damn it, she thought. No where to escape.

"Please? I promise this time would be different," he pressed on.

"No way in hell," she said, trying to move away.

Jen backed up into the far corner of the bathroom. Now she was really trapped.

"Get away from me now, Jason, or else this'll get ugly," she threatened.

He didn't listen. He moved closer. "I won't give up until you give me another chance. I won't give up until you're mine again."

**"SHUT UP!"**

Jen's fist connected with Jason's face, making him fly into the oppisite wall. He gasped as he hit the tiled floor, trying to catch his breath. The light Zodiac Mage walked up to him. Jason stared up at her as blood poured from his nose. She reached down and pulled his shirt making him look her directly in the eye.

"You listen here and you listen good," Jen said in a threatening voice. "If you come anywhere near me again, I swear to fucking God that I will not hold back next time." She threw him into the wall and growled. "Got it?"

Jason was absolutely terrified. "Y-Yes..."

"Hmmph. Good."

Jen turned and walked out of the bathroom, not having to use it anymore. She felt good that she beat the living daylights out of Jason. That jerk deserved it.

She walked back to her usual lunch table and sat down. Kara smiled at her.

"How was that bathroom break?"

Jen smiled back. "Nothing exciting."

* * *

><p>Emily, Adriane, Kara, Jen, Juls, Haley, Shelby, Liv and Roland walked back to the Ravenswood Preserve together. When they walked inside the library, they saw Malikai sleeping on the couch.<p>

"Don't you think we should wake him up?" Kara whispered to Emily.

The healer giggled. "Maybe we should just leave him be."

"Who's there?" Malikai sat up suddenly, pulling a dagger out of nowhere. He quickly put it away when he saw the girls and Roland. "Oh, sorry. I uhm..."

"It's fine," Emily said as she walked inside with the rest of them.

Malikai stood up and stretched, catching Shelby's attention. She couldn't help but stare at the guy.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked.

"Uhm, nothing yet," Jen said. "We have to talk about it."

"Oh, yeah."

"Anyway," Kara said,"I think we should just storm the Dark Sorceress's palace and and take Tyler back!"

"Kara," Adriane said,"it's not that easy."

"But we're powerful! We could take her!"

"Cool down a bit, blazing star," Juls said. "Let's come up wit a plan, okay?"

"Fine."

"So, what's the deal?"

Roland suddenly snapped his fingers. "I got it! It just might work."

Everyone stared at him suspisiously as he smiled.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this'll work?"<p>

"I'm not completely sure about this..."

"Me either..."

"Don't worry guys. It'll work."

Roland went through the plan once more while the whole gang was standing outside of Malikai's house. "We enter the palace and use Goldeneyes to find the Dark Sorceress. Once we locate her, Haley, Shelby, and Juls attack. While the witch is distracted, the mages will open a portal to another outer world. Then, Malikai, Jen, and I will work together to pull her through that portal."

"That sounds extremely dangerous," Adriane said.

"This is freakin' exciting!" Haley howled. "I can't wait! Let's go!"

"Hold on to your horns, Taurus," Jen said. "We need to be careful here."

"Oh, yeah, right."

"Alright, enough talk," Kara said. "Let's move."

The group walked through the Otherworlds until they came to the Black Grass plain. They stopped and went over their plan once more. Everyone was still spectical about Roland's dangerous plan. But really, what other choice did they have?

Then they traveled into the Black Grass plain. As soon as they entered the Dark Sorceress's palace, Malikai tensed. He was completely scared by his aunt. He didn't want to look at her, let alone talk to her. Maybe he won't have to.

Roland looked at Goldeneyes. The mistwolf nodded and transformed into mist. The mist quickly disappeared up the staircase. Roland closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, he could see what his bonded was seeing.

The two were connected.

They searched through all the rooms until they came to the platform the group had seen a few days earlier. They set their eyes on the Dark Sorceress. Tyler was nowhere to be seen. It pained Roland that Tyler wasn't there. The connected was severed and Goldeneyes returned to his friend.

"Back on the platform," Roland said. "Like before."

Everyone nodded and ran up the stairs. When they reached the top of the stairs, Roland broke down the door. Haley, Shelby, and Juls burst through the doorway, ready to attack. But they didn't see anything.

"Where is she?" Juls asked.

"I have no clue," her cousin answered. "Let's look around."

"There's no place to look, genious," Shelby said. "It's just a platform."

"Oooh."

Malikai looked around casiously. He didn't want to face the Dark Sorceress. Suddenly, everyone around him stopped. They completely stopped moving. They didn't even blink.

"Guys?" Malikai waved his hand in front of Roland's face. He didn't even twitch. "What happened?"

"This little trick I learned." Tyler's voice came from behind the dark Zodiac Mage.

Malikai turned slowly to face the pyschic Zodiac Mage. Tyler smiled, his eyes shining a faint purple.

"Using my abilities," he pressed on,"I can even learn how to control someone's brain. So that means that I control their whole nervous system. I can control their movements. That's why they've stopped moving. But fear not. They aren't dead. Just unmoving. I can even tell their brains that they are walking around, to keep the illusion up."

"Why have you stopped them?" Malikai asked bravely.

Tyler's eyes narrowed. "To get you alone."

The Dark Sorceress materialized out of nowhere. She stepped in front of Tyler and advanced towards her nephew. Malikai instantly tensed.

"If it isn't you again," she said, walking around him. "You've come back to your guardian."

"You are not my guardian." He tried to sound brave, but it was failing miserably. Being terrified of someone will do that to you.

"Oh, indeed I am, young Malikai. But don't be scared. I am not going to kill you."

He didn't relax at all. "What do you want from me then?" he asked shakily.

His aunt smiled, fangs poking from her mouth. "I want you to join us, dear boy. Join us, and I won't hurt your friends. But refuse, and I shall use force."

"I'll never help you ever again."

The Dark Sorceress frowned. "Oh, that is too bad. Tyler." She snapped her fingers.

Before Malikai could react, Tyler had him in his dark spell. Tyler took control of Malikai's mind easily. He had control over every muscle and very vein in his body. He chuckled evily.

"Too easy."

Malikai slowly slipped from consciencness. He was being consumed by darkness. Not dark magic, but complete, utter, bottomless darkness. Right before he went under, he could've sworn he heard someone calling his name. But he couldn't recognize the man's voice, and yet, it sounded so familiar. As if...he were...

* * *

><p>The others began moving again. Shelby took a step forward and stopped. She looked over at Malikai. He seemed more tense than usual. She couldn't blame him. He was facing the one person he feared more than anything in the world. She took one last look around and approached him.<p>

"Are you okay?" she asked touching his shoulder.

A cold breeze swept across the platform, ruffling Malikai's black and purple hair. Shelby suddenly had a bad feeling. The boy turned, his eyes glowing his not usual purple. He threw his hand up, hitting Shelby in the chin. She summersalted backwords and slammed against the platform's rail.

"Shelby!" Jen shouted as she ran to her friend.

Adriane took a fighting stance in front of Malikai. "What do you think you're doing?"

When he didn't answer, Adriane charged, along with Dreamer.

"No! Don't! He's being controlled by Tyler!" Shelby shouted.

"What?" Adriane stopped and turned. That was the wrong move.

Malikai rammed his fist into her stomach. Adriane gagged and flew back, landing on the floor. Dreamer ran to her side.

Roland stared at the controlled Malikai. He couldn't take this much longer. He couldn't stand to see his friends get hurt. He ran forward.

"Malikai!"

The dark Zodiac Mage turned. Roland landed a roundhouse kick into Malikai's face. He didn't even budge. While Roland was shocked, Malikai threw his leg up and smashed it into his chest. The lightning Zodiac Mage skidded across the floor and nearly flew over the edge.

"You are all so boring," Malikai said in a bored voice. "Away with you."

With a wave of his hand, everything went black.


	24. Chapter 24

_**24**_

Everyone woke up in the Ravenswood library, dazed by what just happened. Roland jumped up as soon as he awoke and ran out the door with Goldeneyes. The others stayed put.

Emily stared at the floor sadly. "How could we let him get captured too?"

" 'Cause we suck!" Shelby shouted, rubbing her chin. Malikai really hit her hard. "We suck so bad..."

Jen patted her shoulder. "It'll be okay. We'll get him back."

Shelby nodded, but she knew the possibility of that. Everyone knew. They might not be able to get their friends back at all. But hope was still alive.

"Oh, my twig!"

Tweek jumped down from the computer desk, shouting and waving his twig of an arm.

"What is it?" Kara asked the E.F.

"The portals all over the web have been completely closed by dark magic!"

"WHAT?" everyone shouted.

"It's true. The Dark Sorceress is going to end what she started," Emily mumbled.

"But...how can we stop her?" Liv asked. "We can't even defeat her."

Jen stood, hanging her head, her bangs hiding her face. "I honestly don't know. Maybe we should just...take a break from this. I mean, she blocked off all the portals. So there's no way for us to enter the web now. I'm just saying."

It was quiet for a long time. Everyone just stared at the light Zodiac Mage. Finally, Juls stood. "I agree with my sis."

"So do I," Liv said.

"We all agree," Adriane said. "Honestly, I think it's a good idea. We just need to take it easy for a while and focus all our attention on something else."

Jen nodded. "Meet back here on Friday?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Then we'll come here on Friday after school."

* * *

><p>The next few days were quiet. Nothing was really happening. Not at school or on the web. It was almost peaceful, until Thursday.<p>

* * *

><p>The Dark Sorceress watched the dark magical creatures of the Otherworlds. They stirred in the climate. They were obviously becoming restless. More restless than normal, that is.<p>

She turned towards her nephew and apprentice. "Boys, it's time. Open the portals."

Malikai and Tyler nodded and turned, heading down the corridor. The Dark Sorceress's thin lips curved into a smile. Her dark magic was heading for the center of all magic. The home itself.

Ravenswood.

* * *

><p>Jen was walking through the almost desserted hallways of Stonehill High by herself. She was going to meet up with Angie and go to a movie today along with her friend Breanna. She couldn't wait to see Stab 8. Critics said it was scarier than the first. Plus, the previews said that this scary movie was breaking all the rules. Oh, what fun!<p>

"Jen!"

She was about to walk out the front doors of the school when someone stopped her. She turned to see Jason behind her. Oh, great, she thought. Not him again...

"Got a minute?" he asked.

"You didn't learn your lesson last time? Okay. I'll be more than happy to punch your face in again."

"Wait a sec! Can't I just talk to you this time?"

Jen stared at the faded purple mark on her ex's cheek. What a bruise, she thought. "Look what happened last time you just 'talked' to me," she said pointing as his cheek.

Jason shook his head. "Please?"

She couldn't help but say yes. She felt sorry for the boy, which she should've have. He didn't deserve to be felt sorry for. He was too much of a jerk for that. But still,  
>she listened to what he had to say.<p>

"What do you want this time?"

"I want to know why you-"

_BoOOomM!_

The wind blew strongly as dark clouds rolled in. The clouds lit up as thunder boomed through them. Lightning streaked across the sky as the wind blew harder.

"What's going on?" Jen shouted over the noise.

"Jen!"

Roland ran up the front steps of the school, Goldeneyes following close behind.

"Roland, what's happening?"

"We need to get to Ravenswood, now! Something happened-"

"Hey, wait," Jason said strongly. "I need to talk to her."

"Not now, Jason. Maybe in a million years," Jen said as she turned to leave.

Jason reached out and grabbed her wrist. "No! You're gonna listen to me!"

"Do you want another fist in your face, dude?" Roland shouted.

Jen had no clue if he knew about what she did to Jason on Monday. All she knew was that Roland was defending her, and it was totally cute!

"One second, Roland!" Jason pressed on.

"No! She needs to go!"

Lightning flashed across the sky as the boys fought. Jen pulled her hand away from her ex as thunder rang through the area. Then, Jason imploded.

"Why do you hate me?"

Jen froze.

Jason's question rang through her head as she tried to process what happened. She was in complete shock. She didn't think that he was smart enough to figure that out.

She didn't say anything. She just stared at Jason with a worried expression. What could she say?

"Answer me!" he presisted. "Tell me why! Why do you hate me? Why?"

Jen could feel her heart pounding like a drum inside of her, just wanting to burst from it's prison. What could she do? What could she say? She wanted to run, but it seemed as though she was glued to the ground. Unable to move a muscle.

Roland looked at Jen, then at Jason and back. He had no clue what was going on here.

"Answer me!" Jason howled one last time, his expression hard and angery.

That was it. Jen couldn't take it anymore.** "I COULDN'T BARE IT!"**

Jason's eyebrows arched. "What?"

"You wanna know why I hate you? You wanna know why I avoid you?" She was on the verge of tears. "It's because I hurt your sorry ass!"

Jason stared at Jen in complete shock. Roland was confused about the situation, so he just watched.

"I can't bare to hurt anyone, mentally. When I said it was over, you must've completely broke down. Gave up even. I was so sad about that. Just because I hurt a loser like you! I'm not gonna do that again.** Ever!**"

Jen turned and ran as fast as she could, a few tears escaping her eyes. Jason just stared at her. Roland looked at Jason and shook his head.

"You idiot."

He turned and ran after Jen, leaving Jason in the storm.

"There you are!" Emily said as Jen ran into the library. She walked towards the mage. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you've been crying."

Jen averted her eyes from Emily. "I'm fine."

The healer looked at her friend for a moment. "Alright. If you say so."

"We need to hurry!" Tweek said as he showed everyone the map of the web. "The portals are open, but all the dark magic from the Otherworlds is heading here!"

"Wh-What can we do?" Liv stammered.

"We should attack the Dark Sorceress while we can," Juls said, hitting her palm with her fist. "Like, now!"

"I agree with Jen's sister," Roland huffed as he ran into the library. "We should leave now."

"Alright, let's go! No time to waist!" Adriane called out.

* * *

><p>The group walked inside the Dark Sorceress's palace catiously. They knew of the dangers. They knew of the mistakes they could make if they weren't on guard. "Stay on your toes," Shelby whispered. Although her voice seemed to have rippled off the walls. "We don't know what she'll throw at us."<p>

"Got it," Juls said annoyed. "Don't press it on, Jesus."

"Shh! Shut up, Pipsqueak!" Jen whispered at her sister, annoyed.

"Who put a bee in your undies?"

"S.T.F.U!"

"Shut up, both of you," Kara nearly shouted. "We're on a mission!"

"Sorry," the sisters said. Jen was still upset about what had happened earlier with Jason, but she couldn't let that get to her now. She had to focus on finding the Dark Sorceress and Malikai and Tyler. Suddenly, a dark pressence filled the room.

The group turned to see Malikai standing on the railing of the staircase, staring at them. His eyes were brighter than usual, and his expression was blank.

"M-Malikai!" Shelby shouted. "What're you doing up there?"

Without saying a word, he raised his hand and point at them. He wasn't really pointing at them in particular though.

"You're all in our way," he said quietly.

The tip of his finger started to pulse with a dark aura. He uttered some words, then a large, black circle appeared below everyone. They were all suspended in mid air at first, then they began to plument into the black abyss. Malikai only looked at them, that same blank expression on his face.


	25. Chapter 25

_**25**_

Shelby's eyes slowly opened. She was lying on her back, staring at her hand. She rolled over and pushed against the cold floor. Sitting up, she looked around the dark room. The walls were completely blank but black. The floor was blank too, and cold.

The dark Zodiac Mage stood up and looked around the room some more. She felt the walls for a door and surprisingly found one.

She turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"Shelby! There you are!" Jen said happily. The light was so bright on the other side of the door that Shelby had to shield her eyes. Jen smiled at her friend, completely at ease.

"What's going on?" Shelby asked.

Jen grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her into the light. "Don't you remember? It's your boyfriend's birthday!"

"My what?"

Once Shelby's eyes adjusted, she stared in awe at the beautiful place she had entered. The glade was totally transformed. Beautiful flowers of all shapes and colors were littered everywhere. The tiny lake was shining with all different colors as fireflies flew over it. A pile of presents were leaning against a hedge while everyone was dancing to music. From where, Shelby didn't know. An arch littered with flowers was over the entrance of the glade, welcome everyone. Jen lead Shelby to the middle of the group where Malikai was standing. He smiled while taking her hand.

"Hello, my darling."

"Darling? Really?" Shelby asked, blushing.

"Yes, you're my dearest, aren't you not?"

That's when Shelby realized that she was Malikai's girlfriend. How delightful! she thought. Almost a dream come true. What a funny word. Dream...

"I guess so," she said. Malikai kissed her hand and lead her to the rest of the group. Everyone greeted Malikai and wished him a happy birthday. Shelby felt completely at ease. She forgot what was happening a few minutes ago and enjoyed this wonderful event. But there was something wrong with this picture.

She could feel it. Deep inside her core, she could feel that something was off. Something important. She pushed the feeling aside and tried to enjoy herself. Malikai smiled at her as the music started to slow down.

"Want to dance?"

Even though she hated dancing, Shelby nodded. Malikai lead her to the dance floor and took her hand. They began to slowly move around the dance floor as a few of the others joined them. As they swayed, Shelby looked up at Malikai. He smiled at her.

"This is so perfect," she whispered.

"I agree..."

She was completely happy, and peaceful, so you can say.

"...if only it was this perfect."

Shelby stopped dancing and looked up at her boyfriend. "What?"

His eyes became more animal like. His hair began to flow up as if the wind was blowing that way. His smile grew and became sinister. He grabbed Shelby's wrist and pulled her close to him.

"Did you actually think that this is real?" he sneered. "In your dreams."

That's it, Shelby realized. Not a dream...but a nightmare!

All of a sudden, her friends began to fade away one by one, until it was just her and Malikai in the glade. The surroundings grew dark and more evil like. Everything that was beautiful about the glade disappeared. What replaced it looked more like the Otherworlds. Then, that world disappeared. Nothing was left but a black void. Malikai held on to Shelby's wrist as her body dangled. He was all that was holding on to her. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. He wasn't going to let her go...was he?

He smiled, his animal eyes narrowing.

"You think you're safe with me? Well, you are not. Sorry, dearest, but it's time to say goodbye."

Ever so slowly, he let go of her wrist, letting the black void swallow her whole.

* * *

><p>Emily, Adriane, and Kara's eyes snapped open. They sat up quickly and stared at the room they were in. They stood up and stared at each other.<p>

"What happened back there?" Kara asked.

"I don't know," Emily said. "It felt like we fell through a trap door or something."

"Not exactly a trap door," said a voice.

A light turned on in front of the girls to reveal the Dark Sorceress. She was sitting on a large throne, resting her chin on her hand. "More like a transportation spell my nephew was hiding from you."

"Why did you bring us here?" Adriane asked strongly.

"To keep you still, of course."

The Dark Sorceress waved her hand and another light turned on, illuminating the whole room. Jen, Juls, Haley, Shelby, Liv, and Roland were lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Why haven't they woken up yet?" Kara mumbled.

"That's easy to explain, blazing star," the Dark Sorceress said. "When you all fell through the transformation spell, you fell unconscious. You three girls, plus your bondeds, woke up because the spell didn't effect you."

_"What do you mean by 'effect'?"_ Lyra asked.

"You see, the spell put all your friends into a deep sleep, in which this sleep inflicted spectacular nightmares. Nightmares of your friends' deepest fears."

Emily looked at her friends. They all began to moan and shiver. The nightmares must've begun to take over, she realized.

"Take them out of it!" Adriane ordered. "Or you'll regret it!"

The Dark Sorceress laughed. "I can't, I'm afraid. Only your friends can break the spell, if they believe in themselves, that is."

Adriane crused. There was no way to break the spell unless her friends did it themselves. Truely genious. The Dark Sorceress stood and waved her hand again. The black curtains that covered all the walls were raised to reveal wall sized windows. The windows showed the Black Grass plains of the Otherworlds and the various wilderness beyond that. She laughed as she watched the skies.

"What do you plan to do?" Emily asked the sorceress.

"What I planned to do origianlly, of course. To over run the web with dark magic and become its ruler. Who could stop me? Surely not you three."

She laughed as the dark magic continued on its way to Ravenswood.

And all the healer, the warrior, and the blazing star could do was watch.


	26. Chapter 26

_**26**_

Roland quietly made his way through the forest. He was in no hurry. As to where he was going? He wasn't entirely sure. All he knew was the forest was quiet. Too quiet...

The sun shined through the trees as his feet crushed fallen leaves. For some reason, something felt familiar and wrong about this place. Something he couldn't put his finger on. In the distance, Roland could see something flashing. A bright orange light was pulsing just past the trees. It was forcing him to come closer with each step.

Should he investigate?

He was suppose to, wasn't he? It was his job. He walked faster towards the light. As he walked, the light seemed to move father away. Was it moving?

Feeling annoyed, Roland walked faster towards the strange light, but it kept moving away from him.

He gritted his teeth angerly. What was with that thing? Do I seriously have to run after it? Roland seemed to have no other choice.

He broke into a run and charged towards the light. He wasn't going to let it get away. Suddenly, the trees disappeared as he entered a large field. Roland nearly fell to his knees. The green grass that would've filled the field was dead and covered in ash. Small patches of grass were on fire all across the field, sending smoke up into the air. But that's not what shocked him.

Bodies. Hundreds of bodies must've been spread all across the field. When Roland looked closer, he realized that they were the bodies of everyone he has ever known. All his family, his friends, and of the girl he loved. His hands trembled as he fell to his knees. How? he asked himself. How could have let this happen?

Especially to everyone he held dear to him?

_**It's because you didn't protect them**_, a voice said inside of his head.

"That's not true! I protected them!" Roland shouted.

_**You, apparently, did not**_, said the voice. _**You desserted your friends. And in doing so, they perished. All because you weren't here to save them. To protect them.**_

"No..."

_**Oh, yes. You weren't here... You weren't here...**_

The voice faded away as Roland screamed, rocking the whole world.

* * *

><p>Jen suddenly found herself in a room filled with people. Everyone around her was dancing to the heaviest rock ever imaginable. What luck, she thought. Her favorite type of music. She looked at the others carefully, realizing that they were all dressed gothicly or emo like. She absolutely adored their choice in hair style. She looked down at herself and gasped.<p>

She was dressed in the same fashion. Was was wearing a black, ripped up shirt that had a skull in the middle and a black and gray plaid skirt. Her stockings were ripped, making her outfit seem more gothic. She was sporting the cutest black converses and letting a belt hang from her waist. Her arms were covered with netted gloves and over them were black bracelets that had her favorite band's names on them. Feeling her ear lobes, she realized that she was wearing cross boned earings. She pulled a lock of red hair from her high ponytail and examined it. The tips of the red tresses were tinted with blue. Funny. She did't remember dying her hair. Then again, she didn't remember changing outfits either.

But she looked totally awesome!

One of the many songs that she knew started to play. She quickly realized what song it was and started to dance to it. She normally didn't dance, but none of her friends were around to see her, so it wasn't embarrassing. Where were her friends anyway?

Suddenly the singer started to scream.

**I AM FUELED BY ALL FORMS OF FAILURE I PAID THE PRICE, SO I'LL TAKE WHAT'S MINE**

That was weird, Jen thought. One of her favorite songs turned into another song she knew in an instant. But the lyrics sounded...deeper. As if they were being burried into her.

The singer continued, but Jen couldn't really understand what he was screaming. The lyrics slipped her mind. Then, he sang:

**Where were you when my walls came falling down?**  
><strong><br>You tried to run, you stood close by and didn't make a sound**

Wait, that voice sounded familiar. Way too familiar... Jen looked up and gasped.

**Where were you when it all came back around?**  
><strong><br>The reasons why you passed me by will always hold you down SAY SOMETHING**

Roland was on the stage, singing his heart out. While he was singing the sorrowful song, he was looking straight at Jen, sadness in his eyes. As she stared into his eyes, each word cut her deep like a knife. Each word made her feel more depressed by the second. Something terrible happened. She just couldn't figure out what.  
>As Roland started the second verse, Jen could feel pain, physically. As if the words were injuring her for real.<p>

**MY HEART IS FILLED WITH HATE**

When Roland sang "hate", Jen stumbled backwords. The pain was becoming unbarable. Roland stared into her eyes, his eyes filled with the last word he screamed.

Jen's chest began to ache. What did she do?

Suddenly, the song switched.

**WAIT YOU'RE AFRAID LIKE I MAKE MY DEALS WITH THE DEVIL**

This time, the words caused more pain than the others. They literally buried deep into her skin.

**IS ANYBODY ELSE LISTENING?**

The crowd turned towards Jen and, along with Roland, sang the next part together with him.

**OUTTA SIGHT, OUTTA MIND IS WHAT YOU'LL ALWAYS BE**

"Roland," she screamed. "Stop! I don't even know what I did!"

**I SPEAK THE TRUTH AND EVERYBODY ELSE KNOWS IT**

The song changed again. Roland grinned evily as he held up his hand, pretending that he was holding a cup.

**CHEERS TO YOUR FUTURE MAY THEY BURY YOU ALIVE**

Suddenly the crowd turned. Their eyes glowed red as they charged towards Jen, burrying her under a pile of goths. She was in too much pain to even move a finger, let alone save herself from eternal sorrow.

* * *

><p>Emily hovered over her sleeping friends. They were all either shaking, breathing heavily, or screaming at the top of their lungs. What could they be dreaming about? she wondered. It must be horrible.<p>

"Indeed it is horrible," the Dark Sorceress said, predicting the healer's thoughts. "They're dreaming up their worst nightmares."

Emily hung her head. There was absolutely nothing she could do to help her friends. Nothing at all. All she could do was watch them suffer.

Adriane and Kara stared down the Dark Sorceress as she just smiled. The warrior glanced out the windows. The dark magic was moving dangerously close to the edges of the Otherworlds. Soon, they will go to the home of all magic and overrun the web with dark magic only. Leaving no more good magic anywhere.

"Stop that magic or else I'll take you down!" Kara snapped raising her hand.

The Dark Sorceress sneered. "I simply can't. And there's nothing I can do."

Frustrated, Adriane turned towards her sleeping friends. Tears threatened to explode from her eyes.

"Come on, guys! Fight it! Fight back! Wake up!"

Then dark magic flooded the room.

* * *

><p>Malikai laughed evily. His animal like eyes flashed purple as the black void began to disappear. The black void was shrinking when a hand emerged from it. It reached up and grabbed the edge of the disappearing void, as if it were a flat surface.<p>

Malikai's smile vanished as Shelby emerged from the void. Her black hair covered her face as she pulled herself to her feet. She coughed and sucked in air for her asthmatic lungs. The boy couldn't believe his eyes. Didn't he just condemn her to eternal darkness?

"Silly boy..." she stammered. "You forgot one very important detail..."

"Oh? And what's that? You obviously can't control your dreams. So what is it?"

Shelby pulled her hair from her face and pushed her glasses back into place, a look of black fire in her eyes.

"I am darkness."

Dark magic exploded from her, slamming into Malikai like a tsunami. He disappeared as the magic flew wildly around the space, striking down anything that it comes into contact with.

* * *

><p>Emily, Adriane, and Kara shielded their eyes as the dark magic flew from Shelby's body.<p>

"She must be giving off large amounts of dark magic in her dream!" Adriane said.

"No way someone's this strong!" Kara shouted.

"Don't you remember?" Emily pointed at their friends. "Zodiac Mages have unlimited power!"

Shelby's eyes flew open at that moment, her dark magic still pouring from her. She stood up slowly, rubbing her eyes under her glasses. She looked around the room, settling her eyes on the Dark Sorceress.

"Looks like your done."

The sorceress laughed. "Not likely."

The Dark Sorceress waved her hand. Shelby disappeared and reappeared on the highest point of the palace: the upper roof, which is only about the length of half a football field. On the other side of the roof was Malikai, his deep purple cloak billowing in the wind.

"The dark Zodiac Mage arrives," Malikai said blankly. "Finally."

"Am I suppose to fight you or something?" Shelby asked. Although she already knew the answer to that question.

Malikai laughed. "Of course, my fellow mage. Why else are you here?"

Dark magic surrounded Malikai's hand and it pointed outward, becoming like a tiger's claw. He grinned as the aquamarine stone on his choker flashed deep purple. Shelby tensed. She sent dark magic swirling down her arms and legs. The magic around her arms spiked out to become more like protective armor. A long, sword like blade formed above each of her knuckles as weapons. The magic around her legs dug into the roof to make her have more speed if needed, which she was sure that she was going to need it. After a moment of staring at each other, the dark Zodiac Mages charged at each other, weapons drawn at each other's throat.


	27. Chapter 27

_**27**_

"Wh-Where did she go?" Kara stummbled, dumbfounded.

"I simply sent her to be with my nephew," the Dark Sorceress said. "Of course, he'll take care of her."

"You evil little..." Adriane growled.

The Dark Sorceress just laughed. "Keep talking tough, little warrior."

Tyler emerged from behind the Dark Sorceress, his eyes glassy. "Tyler," she said firmly,"the next one that wakes up, take them to the platform."

The psychic Zodiac Mage nodded. The three mages glanced back at their friends.

Who will wake up next? they thought.

* * *

><p>"Roland."<p>

The lightning Zodiac Mage stopped his screams and looked around to see who said his name. There was nothing around him but the horrible scene he had witnessed.

"Roland, snap out of it," the voice said again.

"Who's there?" he nearly shouted. "What the hell do you want?"

It wasn't the same voice as before. This voice seemed kinder than the last. Suddenly, everyone stood up, as if they weren't dead after all. Jen approached him, frowning at him.

"Look at yourself," she said. "This isn't the Roland Butcher I know. He's not likely to break down like that."

He just stared as Jen talked. He couldn't believe she was alive. But then he thought, Is this a dream? A nightmare?

"Get up, stupid. Be strong, for God's sake. You're a mage, act like one."

Roland slowly stood up, his legs shaking. He looked at Jen carefully. "Why are you still alive?"

Jen shook her head and smiled. "Because you wanted me to be alive, Dumb-Dumb."

She faded away with the rest of the field as Roland fell back into reality.

* * *

><p>Roland's eyes snapped open. He was lying on his back, staring up at a dark sky. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head. "What? How...?"<p>

"Welcome back to the Otherworlds."

Roland jumped to his feet and twisted, setting his sight on Tyler. The mages stared at each other for a long time before speaking.

"What happened? How did I get here?"

Tyler shook his head. "You seriously haven't realized it yet?" He began to walk around Roland.

"Realized what?"

"What you saw was a very famous Dark Nightmare. Something so horrible that only a truely evil person could conjure up. Dark mages mostly."

"But... You can only escape those using..."

"That's right, Roland. And you saw it. In her, didn't you?"

Roland glanced nervously around the area. He realized that he was on the platform he was on a few days before. How did he end up there?

"What do you want with me, Tyler?" Roland narrowed his eyes, trying to forget what his friend had uncovered.

"I have to finish you off, for Miranda."

"Miranda? Oh... I see. The Dark Sorceress's real name, eh?"

Tyler looked affended. "Her name is Miranda, and nothing else."

"Fine." Roland held up his hands defensively. "Enough talk!" Tyler snarled. "Give me your best shot."

"Really?" Roland rolled his eyes. "I'm way more atheltic than you in so many-"

Tyler flew forward, ramming his fist into his friend's stomach, stopping Roland's sentence. He skidded across the platform and stopped near the edge. He was so glad that he didn't fall over.

"Am I weak now?" Tyler sneered.

Roland coughed and wipped his mouth. "Guess not."

* * *

><p>"Those two are the lucky ones. They were the only ones that were strong enough to release the dreams. The others are weaklings that couldn't take down a pooxim."<br>The Dark Sorceress laughed as everyone stirred in their sleep. Emily, Adriane, and Kara thought that it was painful to watch. The girl huddled together.

"What can we do?" Kara whispered, near tears.

"I don't know," Adriane whispered back. "We don't have a plan..."

"We need one. Right away."

"I can't heal them out of a dream," Emily whimpered. "It's almost impossible. Without help."

"We can help," Adriane said. The healer shook her head. "I need more power. Way more."

"Making a plan is useless," the Dark Sorceress called. "You'll just waste time."

The girls ignored that statement and continued talking.

"Then what could we do?" Kara asked.

"We could try what we did when we opened the Gates of Avalon," Emily whispered.

"That could work," the warrior said. "It has to."

"Let's try it," the blazing star said.

The healer nodded and joined hands with her friends. The girls concentrated, trying to telepathiclly summon their animal friends. When no response came, the girls looked at each other, puzzled. The sorceress laughed.

"Silly girls. This room has a special spell surrounding it that won't allow magic in or out unless I say so."

The girls eyes widened.

"No!" Kara cried.

"We were so close..." Adriane mumbled.

"Now, all the magic..." Emily sobbed.

"...is going to be mine!" the Dark Sorceress finished her sentence.

* * *

><p>Roland laughed as the gothic crowd piled on top of each other. Jen, on the other hand, was suffocating under all the black and leather. She had to get out of this...but how? Calmly, she cleared her mind, thinking clearly and letting the music fill her. She knew this song that Roland was singing, and new what the next word was. She concentrated and with all her might, she gathered up all her energy, and screamed.<p>

**"MOVE!"**

The goths that were piled on top of her were suddenly blown aside. Some were knocked into other goths and others slammed into the floor. Jen was now standing in the middle of a circle she created. Roland stared wide eyed at her, completely shocked. He wasn't expecting this. The song quickly changed to one of the songs Roland was sing eariler.

**I AM FUELED BY ALL FORMS OF FAILURE I PAID THE PRICE, SO I'LL TAKE WHAT'S MINE**

Jen smiled, for she knew the next verse.

**I BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING**

Roland didn't waste any time. He quickly sang the next verse.

**CAUSE I DO AS I PLEASE, APOLOGIZE FOR NOTHING**

**MY TIME IS FLYING BUT I'M STILL SECOND TO NONE**

Jen simply screamed back.

**ALWAYS SHINING THE BRIGHTEST WHEN I'M PLACED UNDER THE GUN**

The crowd of goths sang the background verse and Roland and Jen sang back and forth.

**SO HERE I STAND, THE ONLY SON OF A WORKING-CLASS MAN**

Jen made sure that her words hurt. She made sure that the fake Roland knew what she was pushing. She used her magic to make her voice more glossy.

**I WON'T HOLD BACK I CAN'T BE HELD DOWN **

**Where were you when my walls came falling down?**

Suddenly the song changed again. It was another song from earlier. Really, Jen thought. When was he gonna learn?

He looked Jen straight in the eyes and sang:

**I SPEAK THE TRUTH AND EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS IT **

**SO SET YOUR EGO TO THE SIDE AND JUST-**

Jen cut Roland off. With all her strength, she willed the goths to face him and sing the same verse she was going to. She threw all her spellsinging strength into that one phrase.

**GET THE FUCK OVER IT!**

Roland froze, then disappeared, along with the music and the crowd of goths.

* * *

><p>Emily, Adriane, and Kara couldn't believe that they heard a cuss word come out of Jen's mouth. That's when the light Zodiac Mage stood up and stared straight ahead at the Dark Sorceress.<p>

Her eyes widened. "You woke up... That's a surprise."

Jen didn't say a word. She looked back at her friends, who were on the ground behind her, sleeping and dreaming their worst nightmares. Jen turned back towards the sorceress and raised her hands. The Dark Sorceress laughed.

"What're you going to do, exactly?"

Jen's eyes and opal stone glowed the same blue that Emily's jewel glowed when she healed people. The light Zodiac Mage threw her arms behind her, having them point at her friends. A wave of cool blue and light green emerged from her hands like a waterfall and enveloped her sleeping friends. As the blanket of light settled on them, they stopped stirring, breathing heavily, and silently sobbing. Then, one by one, Juls, Haley, and Liv woke up, a little shaken by their nightmares. The mages gasped.

The Dark Sorceress snarled,"How is that possible?"

"Simple," Jen said. "Light can shine brightly, in the darkness."

* * *

><p>Malikai's dark magic tiger's claw whipped past Shelby's face, leaving three large scratches on her cheek. She ducked and spun on the ground, trying to knock Malikai off his feet. He jumped and flipped backwords, landing on the railing along the perimeter of the rooftop. Shelby tried to catch her breath. He was a whole lot faster than she had realized. She straightened herself and ran towards Malikai, weapons ready.<p>

He pulled his torn cloak off and threw it into the Black Grass plain, then he jumped up as Shelby threw her left blade at him. She spun around and ducked just as he had tried to land a round house kick. Time slowed down. Shelby threw her right blade up, slicing his shirt right open. Malikai pushed his feet against a pole and back flipped to the other side of the roof. He looked down and examined his ripped shirt. Shelby had completely missed the skin, but the shirt was torn from the very bottom to the very top. Now it looked like a ripped up vest. Malikai decided to keep the shirt on and continue to fight.

He ran forward, his claw ready. Shelby held up her arms, on the offense and defense.

When was this going to end? she thought desperately.

* * *

><p>Tyler slammed into the doorway, nearly breaking the door. Roland ran as fast as he could towards him, his left arm tingling with electricity. He threw a punch, that Tyler dodged, and made a hole in the wall. He swiftly pulled his hand from the wall and turned, heading for Tyler again. He finally formulated a plan in his head.<p>

The psychic Zodiac Mage threw a punch. Perfect opening, Roland thought. He ducked under the fist and punched Tyler in the stomach. He realed back but gained his balance after a few seconds. In that few seconds, Roland ran up to Tyler and grabbed both wrists. Suddenly, Roland rammed his forehead into Tylers'. They stayed like that for a second, then they both fell back. Roland immediately jumped to his feet while Tyler shook his head. He looked around the platform, then back at his friend.

"Um, what just happened?"

Roland let loose a sigh of relief. He had his friend back. Finally. He walked over to Tyler and offered him his hand. "A lot, dude."


	28. Chapter 28

_**28**_

Malikai suddenly stopped, his eyes clearing. His dark tiger's claw disappeared as he shook his head and looked at Shelby.

"What...?"

She sighed. "You're back..."

Her dark magic blades disappeared as Malikai stared at her, confused. "What're you talking about?"

"You aunt took you over or something like that," Shelby explained. "Something must've happened because you stopped attacking me."

She wasn't completely sure, but she had a good feeling that he had come to his senses. Malikai's body trembled, but he held himself together. "Let's get back."

He raised his hands, concentrating. His eyes glowed a deep purple mixed with black while his hair was ruffled by the wind. Malikai pictured him and Shelby materializing in the room where the Dark Sorceress was in. He could see her now. She was sitting on that giant throne of hers, watching his friends intensely. He was about to transport into the room when all of a sudden, his aunt raised her hand and flicked her finger. Malikai and Shelby disappeared instantly.

* * *

><p>Roland explained as much as he could to Tyler. He seemed to have no memory of what was going on.<p>

"That's all you remember?" Roland asked finally.

Tyler nodded. "This beautiful woman came outta nowhere and offered to help me. So, what choice did I have? These powers were consuming me, dude. Anyway, I remember coming here and training, but that's it."

"Okay. At least I filled you in."

"Well, what're we waiting for? We have to go help the others!"

"I'm right behind you!" The boys stood up. As soon as they did, they vanished.

* * *

><p>Shelby, Malikai, Roland, and Tyler appeared in front of the Dark Sorceress.<p>

She smiled, her lips stretching to her ears. "Look who's joined us?" she chuckled.

Malikai stared at his aunt, fear and hate in his eyes. "Why don't you just leave us alone?" he shouted.

The Dark Sorceress's eyes narrowed. "It is kind of hard to leave family behind, is it not? But I guess I don't have to worry about your smug attitude anymore."

The Dark Sorceress moved as fast as light. She raised her hand again. A beam of dark magic exploded from her finger tips and impaled Malikai in the chest, right through his heart. He fell to the floor as his aunt laughed histerically. Screams erupted through the room as the reality set in. Everyone was completely shocked.  
>Emily ran towards Malikai, Adriane, and Kara right on her heels. She fell to her knees and immediately started pushing her healing magic into Malikai's wound. Adriane and Kara, along with their bondeds, poured their magic into Emily for her to use. She forced all her healing magic into Malikai, but blood was still coming from his wound. She looked at the group that was gathered around her. They all had a look of worry on their faces.<p>

"I... I can't close the wound. He's too far gone." Tears streamed down the healer's face, realizing that she couldn't save him.

"No! There has to be something you could do!" Jen shouted.

The healer shook her head. "I can't. I'm sorry..."

"What if we give you our magic?" Haley suggested.

"He's too far gone! Didn't you hear me?" Emily hung her head as her friends comforted her. The others stared aimlessly at Malikai's body, all of them feeling helpless and empty.

Especially his fellow dark Zodiac Mage.

* * *

><p>Completely upset, Jen let out a tremedous amount of magic, blasting out the windows. The Dark Sorceress had to shield her eyes because of the bright light that came from the light Zodiac Mage.<p>

"How dare you break my windows!" the Dark Sorceress yelled.

Jen ran up the the sorceress and slammed her agaisnt the throne. "How dare you kill my friend!"

The Dark Sorceress wasn't shaken. She wasn't scared of this firey redhead at all. "What're you going to do, huh? You can't kill me. I'm way more powerful than you."

"You think so, don't you?" Jen snarled. "Don't you know? Zodiac Mages have unlimited power."

The Dark Sorceress's blood ran cold.

"You know what that means, right?"

The sorceress swallowed. The first thought of fear ran her mind for the first time in years.

Jen smiled. "Of course you do."

A brilliant light engulfed the Dark Sorceress in a matter of seconds. There was a loud screech, then the light disappeared and so had the Dark Sorceress.

"What did you do?" Juls gasped.

"Easy, I overwhelmed her with light and she disappeared."

Everyone stared at her in wonder. She raised an eyebrow and walked towards the broken window on the far wall. She quietly stared at the horde of dark magic heading towards Ravenswood. The dark magic creatures relucantly started to follow it towards its new destination.

"Jen?" Shelby whimpered, still hurt about Malikai.

The light Zodiac Mage didn't turn. She didn't want her friends to see her cry. She just stared out the window absently. After a moment, she turned towards her friends, the tears dry.

"We need to move."

* * *

><p>Haley, Juls, and Adriane were standing near the edge of the Otherworlds, waiting for the dark creatures to come.<p>

"Uh, Adriane?"

"What is it, Julia?"

"Is this gonna work?"

"Of course it will." Adriane really didn't know what to expect. She just hoped that the outcome was good. She just needed to believe it. Their job was to stop all the dark creatures from entering the web. Sounds easy enough, but easier said then done. Suddenly, the dark creatures appeared over the horizon. Juls and Haley pointed franticlly at the beasts.

"Adriane," they screamed,"they're coming!"

"We got this!" the warrior screamed back.

She glanced down at Dreamer. The mistwolf nodded at his friends. Adriane nodded back and held her hands out. Haley, who was standing next to her, did the same. The girls concentrated together, entertwinning each other's earth magic. Once they were connected with each other, they raised their hands in unison. The ground in front of them rumbled. Suddenly, a large rock wall exploded from the dried grass, rising as high as a willow tree. Adriane turned towards Haley and smiled.

"That should hold them back."

"Not for long. Juls! Your turn!"

"Got it!"

The water Zodiac Mage searched Aquatania for her bonded sea dragon Nagamine.

_"Nagamine,"_ she said telepathiclly_,"I need you!"_

_"I am here, my friend,"_the sea dragon responded.

_"Please help me summon the strength to do this."_

_"You can count on me."_

Juls magic and the sea dragon's magic blended together, combining strengths. Juls could feel the amazing power buzz through her core as the magic concentrated.  
>She summonded up water from all the surrounding plants and motioned it into a fountain. The water shot her straight up, having her land on the top of the rock wall.<br>Using all the magic she could, Juls took water from a nearby lake and threw it over the humongus crowd of dark creatures. The animals were instantly taken aback by the sudden flow of water.

"Whoa!" Haley yelled. "Nice work, Cuzo!"

"Don't thank me," Juls yelled. "Thank Nagamine!"

* * *

><p>"You see that?" Tyler put his hand over his eyes and squinted.<p>

"See what?" Shelby asked miserably.

"That."

Tyler pointed towards the horizon. Deep blue water flowed over what use to be the Addroid Plains.

"That must be Julia and the others," Shelby said.

Tyler nodded.

"Don't you think we should help?"

The dark Zodiac Mage nodded. The pyschic Zodiac Mage raised his hand, concentrating on the enormous field filled with dark creatures. He extended his senses and took over each and every mind of the animals there.

"Don't follow that magic," he said in a layered voice, his eyes glowing light purple. "Stay in your home."

The animals stopped, and turned, heading back where they came from.

Shelby looked at Tyler. "That was impressive."

"I didn't even know I could do that."

"Now you know."

"I just hope we're not too late," Emily said. "Like I was."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Tyler said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault."

Emily nodded, but she couldn't help but feel guilty about the situation. Shelby tried to block out the conversation about Malikai's death. She couldn't bare to think about it.

_Pop!_

Barney appeared next to Shelby's head. "It's all up to you now," she said into the tiny dragonfly.

* * *

><p>"Roger that," Jen said into Goldie. She pushed his belly, servering the connection. The golden dragonfly flew onto Kara's shoulder as Sid, Liv's ruby red dragon, flew through the web.<p>

"What are you going to do?" Kara shouted over the roar of the wind.

Jen glanced at Kara, then focused her attention on holding on to the massive dragon. She wasn't going to explain just yet.

"Don't worry," she finally said. "I have a plan."

Jen suddenly gribbed Roland's waist, who was sitting in front of her, as the dragon suddenly jerked forward.

"We're almost there!" Liv shouted. "Hold on tight!"

Sid flew forward, nearly knocking Lyra, Goldie, and Goldeneyes off of his back. The dragon turned and almost flew into the stream of dark magic traveling along the web. Liv moved the reins that were connected to Sid's mouth and led him towards the end of the dark magic stream. The magic was almost to Ravenswood.

"Okay," Jen said. "Stop right in the pathway of that stream, then let me do the rest!"

"You sure?" Roland asked.

Jen nodded. "I am."

Sid flew over and stopped directly in the path of the stream of dark magic. Everyone stared at the stream quietly for a second.

"Hold Sid steady," Jen shouted as she stood up.

"Are you freakin' crazy?" Liv shouted back. "Don't stand of a flying dragon!"

"Just trust me!"

Using all her strength, Jen pulled all her magic together and threw it at the dark magic. The light pierced the stream but barely affected it. Her magic wasn't enough!

She glanced at her friends.

She couldn't take magic from them. So, she just did the next thing that came to her mind.

She grabbed the opal stone and ripped it off of her bracelet. Everyone gasped as she held it up in the air.

"What're you doing?" Roland shouted.

I'm sorry, she thought, holding the stone back.

She tossed the stone into the magic web. Suddenly, light exploded from all directions, pushing the dark magic stream back. The dark magic started to flow back towards the Otherworlds. Eventually, it returned. Jen sat back down on Sid's back, staring at her empty bracelet.

Kara, Liv, and Roland didn't say anything as they headed back towards the Otherworlds.


	29. Chapter 29

_**29**_

Malikai stared into the white void around him. He just stared blankly at the place, not knowing where exactly he was at or how he got there. All he remembered was being stabbed through the chest with something. He couldn't remember what exactly. He knew that his aunt caused it. Of course. She was as cold as the heart that beat within her. Maybe colder than Mount Everest in the human world.

"Malikai..."

Malikai's thoughts were interupted by a voice. He looked around slowly to see if there was anyone there with him, but there was no one.

"Malikai."

"Who's there?" he wanted to shout, but it came out a whisper. Why was he so weak?

"Don't you recognize me?" the voice said again, clearer this time.

"I don't..." Malikai shook his head slowly. What was going on? That voice sounded so familiar. Suddenly, something flickered in front of him. Could his eyes be playing tricks on him? The image looked to real though. Colors of all kinds swirled in front of him. All of a sudden, they stopped. Malikai couldn't believe his eyes.

"F-Father?"

Villdan, Malikai's father, was standing right in front of his son, staring him straight in the eyes. "It's so good to see you again, son."

Malikai nearly fell to the floor. "You're... You're alive?"

Villdan kept quiet for a moment, contemplating the question. "I won't answer that yet." He smiled and ran a hand through his black and deep purple hair. "Although, I am impressed with your skills, but disappointed that you were defeated by your aunt so easily."

"How do you-"

"Furthermore, I am still proud of you. You even made friends. Your first friends, am I correct?"

Malikai's face flushed. "Yes."

His father laughed. "How amuzing. My son is becoming quite the man."

"Please, father, tell me. How are you here?"

"I was able to enter your subconscious. It was the only way I could really talk to you. Listen, son, you can't die yet. Not while you're still young. Not while you have friends to go back to."

Malikai looked down. "What's the point? My aunt will just hunt me down to the ends of the web and try to kill me again. My friends will die if she's after me."

"I don't think so."

Villdan put a hand on his son's shoulder. "You're really powerful, Malikai. I bet that you could've defeated Miranda if you really wanted to. She is so consumed by power."

"What do you mean by 'could've'?"

His father just smiled. "You'll find out. Do not worry. Now go. Go back to your friends and continue your life with them."

Malikai nodded and was about to walk away when he stopped.

"Wait! When will I see you again? Will I see you again?"

Villdan looked at his son. They looked alike. They both had the same black and deep purple hair, the same velvet purple eyes, and body form. Villdan smiled. Like father like son.

"I said not to worry, son. By the way, Antura and I are really proud of you. Don't forget that."

Malikai smiled as he recognized his mother's name. Villdan waved, and disappeared as his son turned and walked in the empty void.

* * *

><p>Sid flew right in front of the broken windows of the room that Emily, Shelby, and Tyler were in. Adriane, Kara, Jen, Juls, Haley, Liv, and Roland jumped off the dragon and joined their friends.<p>

"Success," Haley shouted.

"Well, not really..." the healer mumbled, staring at her feet. "Sorry."

"Hey," Shelby said pointing at Jen's wrist. "Where's your stone?"

"It's um, gone."

"Gone? What happened?"

"I kinda used it to stop the dark magic from taking over Ravenswood. It was for the best."

"You can still use magic," Adriane said.

"Yeah," Jen mumbled,"but I liked that stone..."

Someone gasped, which made everyone jump.

_"What was _that_?"_Dreamer said.

_"Look!"_Lyra pointed her paw.

The group to see Malikai sit up, breathing heavily. He turned towards his friends, his eyes strained.

"That was like being suffocated by a Kobold."

"Malikai!"

The group attacked him, overcoming him with hugs and smiles.

"We thought you were dead!" Juls shouted.

"I thought I was too late!" Emily yelled happily. "I wasn't after all!"

"You're alive!" Shelby cried as she hugged him tightly.

Malikai was completely overrun by his friends. He felt like crying, he was so happy. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "Okay okay. Let me stand up."

Shelby helped her fellow mage stand as everyone seperated from them. They smiled as the dark creatures stirred in the field.

"At least those animals are back where they belong," Emily said.

"I'm happy about that," Kara said happily.

"Same here," Adriane agreed.

"We feel the same too," Jen added.

"Huh?" Malikai realized that his hand was clenched around something. He opened his hand to reveal a beautiful, colorful stone flower the size of his palm. "What the-?"

"What is it?" Shelby asked him.

"Look at what appeared in my hand."

The group gathered around Malikai as he showed them the stone flower. They gasped and stared in awe at it's beauty. Roland gasped.

"Th-That's the light Zodiac Mage's flower!" he shouted. "It evolved!"

"Evolved?" everyone asked.

"That's my stone?" Jen yelled in surprise.

"It is! Didn't I tell you that it was gonna be a beauty?" Roland winked at her as she took the stone from Malikai.

"But how come you had it? I threw it into the dark magic stream."

"When you did that," Malikai explained,"your magic became stronger and as a cause of this, your stone evolved. Most stones don't evolve, but some do. Like yours. When the dark magic came back here, the flower must've mistaken me for you."

"How is that possible?" Kara asked raising an eyebrow.

Malikai shrugged. "Not sure."

"This is incredible!" Jen shouted. "My magic has evolved!"

Everyone smiled as the sun slightly shone through the dark cloud, illuminating the area.

* * *

><p>Friday morning, Jen walked through the halls of Stonehill High, her new stone flower glistening beautifully on a silver chain around her neck. She felt a whole lot better about the day. She felt like she could face anyone, or anything. Jason quietly walked past her. She could see that he saw her, but he didn't say anything. Good, she thought. Her little chat with him scared him off.<p>

"Jen!" She turned to see Shelby, Liv, Angie, and Breanna walk up to her.

"Hey, guys."

They talked as they headed towards the lunch room together. When they entered, Roland was leaning against one of the support beams, smiling. Jen waved to her friends.

"I'll be right back."

She turned away from them and walked towards Roland. She smiled as he stood up straight.

"Hey," he said casually. "Did you think about it?"

Jen nodded, still smiling. "There wasn't much to think about."

Roland frowned.

"But that's a good thing," she said quickly.

His smile returned instantly. "So, is that a yes?"

"Yep. I'll see you tomorrow at seven."

Roland smiled as him and Jen parted. The girls at Jen's table started whispering to each other. Jen sat down and smiled.

"What're you gossipers whispering about?" she asked.

"We are not gossipers!" Angie said as she nudged Jen's arm playfully.

"Anyway, what did you say?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah, tell us!" Haley said as she sat down.

Jen smiled. "I said yes, of course."

Just about every girl at the table squealed while all the boys(which was only one) covered their ears. As soon as everyone returned from the Otherworlds the day before, Roland asked Jen out. Jen really didn't have time to answer since her mom arrived to pick her and her sister up.

"You're going out with Roland?" Mike asked.

Jen nodded. "Yep. Finally. He's been my crush forever."

Mike laughed. "Good for you."

Everyone laughed as Jen looked over her shoulder to look at Roland. He smiled at her and waved. Tyler did the same. She waved back, still smiling. She was glad that they were all friends and that it was finally peaceful here and on the magic web. Could anything get better than this?

* * *

><p>"How disappointing."<p>

Adimus watched the large mirror in front of him, frowning. The mirror showed an image of the light Zodiac Mage taking out the Dark Sorceress. Adimus was displeased.

"I am sorry, sir," said the Dark Sorceress. She was kneeling in front of Adimus's throne. "I couldn't defeat the mages."

"You should be sorry." Adimus stood, his gray eyes blank. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to keep your image up? You're lucky I summoned you back here."

The Dark Sorceress whinced. She didn't like disobeying her master. "But anyways, looks like I have to deal with these nusiences myself."

Adimus, using his mind, made the Dark Sorceress disappear, then he walked over the mirror. A small smile formed on his face. "Looks like I'm going to have to do this myself. Besides, I am more powerful than any of them."

* * *

><p><strong>So I know that there are <em>A LOT<em> of characters in this story. So what I'm gonna do is list a few of them and their abilities.**

**1. Jennifer Balisk: Libra - _Light Mage_**

**2. Julia Balisk: Aquarius - _Water Mage_**

**3. Shelby Anberlin: Gemini - _Dark Mage_**

**4. Livy Azenneth: Aries - _Air Mage_**

**5. Haley Williams: Taurus - _Earth Mage_**

**6. Roland Butcher: Leo - _Lightning Mage_**

**7. Tyler Pallen: Sagittarius - _Psychic Mage_**

**8. Malikai: Gemini - _Dark Mage_ **

**I hope this helped clear things up ^^" Sorry for the confusion!**


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